A Beautiful Problem
by BeautifullyHealed
Summary: I have a slight problem. I'm in love with the man I always vowed to hate. A dilemma that could only happen for hell's pure amusement.
1. New Beginnings

**Hello, lovely readers! Thank you so much for reading my story. I have been a obsessive Harry Potter FanFiction reader for some time now, so I decided I should post my own story. This story follows the relationship of Rose Weasley (Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger's daughter) and Scorpius Malfoy (Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass's son). I fell in love with this pairing when I read the epilogue at the end of "Deathly Hallows" and JK Rowling set up a beautiful relationship. I must admit, the first couple chapters are pretty lame, but it gets better as the story goes along and things get CRAZY. So, are you ready for some romance? Tragedy? Friendship? Family? Good, because here we go!**

**Disclaimer: It is with great sorrow that I must tell you lovely readers that I do not own Harry Potter. JK Rowling beat me to the punch. However, I do own the plot. So, unfortunately, you cannot have that :)**

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I have a slight problem. I'm in love with the man I vowed to always hate.

I don't know exactly when it happened, but at some point I fell in love with Scorpius Malfoy, dumb name and all. I think it all started when my Dad started the rivalry, telling me, "So, that's little Scorpius. Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains." With that, I decided to hate him with every fiber in my being. But, the problem with hate is that it makes it easier to love. You just don't want to admit it.

So here I am. A dilemma that could only happen for hell's pure amusement. As much as I hated Scorpius, the way he strutted around the castle, the way he threw a dagger in my heart every time he glared at me, and how I spent hours awake at night thinking about his grey eyes… See! Something must be wrong with me.

I remember it clearly, as though I was on the Hogwarts Express for the first time yesterday. I was sitting in the compartment, sitting Indian style on one of the seats facing my cousin Al, playing Wizards Chess. The compartment door opened and looked to see who walked in. Scorpius and this other brown haired boy walked in, who I would later know as Vincent Goyle.

"Oh," he said flatly, looking to see who else was in the compartment.

Even though he was obviously embarrassed, I didn't really feel that sorry for him. After all, did I beg him on hands and knees to come in?

He came and sat down on the opposing cushion and Goyle followed him and sat down, too. I looked up at him and raised my eyebrows, as if to ask, "And you're acting like you were invited to sit in here WHY?"

"All the other compartments are full," he said simply.

Fine, if I was going to be stuck in the same bloody compartment as him, I wouldn't let him know it bothered me. I continued to play wizards chess with Al for some time until a smooth voice said…

"Knight to E6."

I whipped my head around so quickly to face him that some of my trademark red Weasley hair (though mine was a little more of an auburn, since I have some of my mother's genes, too) got stuck in my mouth. I felt my ears turning red in embarrassment (thanks for that trademark, too, Dad!) and looked at him.

"What did you say?"

"Move your knight to E6," he said in a smug way, "Then you'll win."

I looked over my game pieces thoroughly again. Sure enough, if I moved my knight to E6, I would checkmate Al. But, to my great pleasure, I also so if I moved my castle to D7, I would also checkmate. (Poor Al, maybe he'll beat me one day. Oh, who are we kidding, he never will. I inherited my father's Wizards Chess skills, and unfortunately, Al inherited his father's.)

"Castle to D7," I said with the joy of one who just won the lottery.

The piece of marble moved itself to its proper cubical of victory on Al's chess set. Al looked over all of his broken chess pieces, my one broken pieces, and sighed sadly. I patted him on the shoulder and he grinned at me. Pulling my bag from the luggage rack above my head, I pulled out a small black box. I smiled to myself as I stared at its gold letters on the front, spelling "Ollivanders. Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C." I also remember the big deal about my wand.

When I went to Diagon Alley to get my schoolbooks, robes, wand, and other typical Hogwarts necessities, it certainly wasn't my first trip to the wonderful alley. I was raised in a Wizard family, so I knew all about magic. ("Lucky you, I didn't, I had to research everything about wizards in the world before I came," my mum said in response.) I got my robes from Madam Malkin, who squealed with delight seeing my Mum and Dad. I got my books from Flourish and Blotts because my father refused to get me second-hand books. ("I went through that all of my childhood, and will put that punishment on no child of mine!") Finally, after 11 years of waiting, I got my wand. I walked into Ollivanders that sunny August day, and to my surprise, saw Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry already there.

"Aunt Ginny, Uncle Harry!" I yelled with happiness.

I ran to give them a hug, which they returned with just as much enthusiasm. Everyone smiled and locked eyes with each other, as if telling secrets in their minds. After looking around at them, with my hands on my hips, I attempted to threaten the secret out of them all.

"Is somebody going to please tell me what's up?" I pleaded.

"This," Uncle Harry said, "Is your new wand, giving that it chooses you. It's a rather special wand."

I stared at the gorgeous wand in awe, resisting every urge in my body to jump up and down and scream like a 5-year-old girl. I looked up into my uncle's eyes and saw tears in them; I looked into my Aunt Ginny's brown eyes and saw the same tears brewing themselves, ready to slide out at a moment's notice.

"The wand is special for two reasons. Its core is made from the feather of a phoenix. But not just any phoenix, the birds name was Fawkes. He belonged to Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts when we went, and he is who Al is named after. I found this feather on the day Dumbledore's funeral. I decided to save it for someone else's wand, too. Plus, it's made of the same mahogany tree my father's wand was made of," said Uncle Harry, his brilliant green sparkling with tears, looking at me with all the love in the world

I continued to stare at the wand. Why did I deserve the special wand?"

"But," I asked with curiosity, "Why didn't you give it to James or Al?"

"Because," he replied, smiling down at me, "The wand chooses the wizard, Rosie. Not the other way around. It didn't choose Albus or James. But maybe," he held the wand out to me, "It will choose you."

I grabbed the wand. Suddenly, it felt like a bolt of energy rushed through my fingers. I felt wind rush around me; I felt warmth through my fingers. I started to glide the wand around and little, chirping birds started to pop out and follow my gliding wand.

"Oh, Ron," my mum said with a laugh, "Did I use that spell in our 6th year?"

"Yeah, Hermione," my dad said, putting his arm around her, "Except you made them attack me. I like Rosie's version better."

I smiled. Dad set that up, I had to do it. So, with a grin on my face, I thrust the wand towards Dad and the little bird fluttered over and started to peck at him.

"HEEEEY! NOT COOL, ROSIE!!" Dad yelled while attempting to whack the birds away with little success.

With that memory fresh in my head, I released a laugh. So here I am, curled up in this bloody freezing corridor, attempting to think about anything but Scorpius, with little success. My mind wandered back to back to the first time he saved me. Note, I say first time. I'm sort of clumsy and he seems to always be around to save me. Why can't Jerry Longbottom save me for once? Then again, Jerry's probably clumsier than me and might die in the process of trying to save me. I was going across the giant lake. I wasn't particularly in a good mood because I was stuck in the boat with Vincent and Scorpius. Al and I sat on one side, staring at the side of the lake, Scorpius and Vincent said on one side, staring on that side of the lake. Now, by my luck, we were at the very back of the line of first years, far beyond earshot. Scorpius started to rock the boat by looking through his cloaks for his wand, and accidently made a wave splash on my socks.

"Would you cut that out?!" I said aggressively, for I was quite agitated.

Scorpius blinked his blonde eyelashes innocent, and continued to search through his cloak, which continued to rock the boat. At some point, I found myself in the water. I was blinded by the dark, murky water. I felt my cloaks weighing me down and I couldn't swim well. I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper. I heard screams above the water and I knew it then: I was going to drown. Then, I heard a splash and felt the water moving around me. Was that that the giant squid? Uncle Harry said it was friendly, but maybe it only ate girls. Stupid gender! Then, a hand slipped into mine and a hand put itself gently around my waist. I felt like I just got shocked. It was the most electrify, heart-pumping touch I had ever felt. Slowly, I felt myself being pulled up and my head broke out of the waters. I gulped air, and the warm hand kept me afloat. I opened my bright brown eyes and it met those incredible gray eyes. Scorpius had saved my life. His wet blonde hair was clinging to his face. I'd never seen a face anymore handsome.

"Are you okay?" He said desperately, his grey eyes looking at me in fear.

Al was screaming "PROFESSOR HAGRID! PROFESSOR HAGRID!" somewhere in the distant, but I couldn't hear. I nodded, but my heart was pounding like I had run a marathon. I was unconditionally and forever in love with Scorpius Malfoy.

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**Alright, that is Chapter 1! Tell me, did you guys like it? Did you hate it? Please, let me know you're opinion. I love constructive criticism. I will hopefully be posting more as soon as I know how in the world to work bloody FanFiction. Thanks guys! Love you all! **


	2. Never Back Down

**Hey everyone! Wow, I was blown away by you're reviews. Siriusly, (did you see that?) they made me feel INCREDIBLE. I had no idea when I posted this that any would even find the story. So thank you. I want to give a shout out to my first ever reviewer, Drishti Choudhury! You made me smile for three hours straight! So, are you dying to know what happens next? Do not fret any longer, because here comes chapter 2! I would like to dedicate this to my friend Rachel. Girl, I think you and I could talk about Harry Potter for days straight. After all, we've already done it for an hour! :)**

**Disclaimer: I ran to my mirror and came to the conclusion am short, dark haired, and from North America, so therefore I cannot be JK Rowling. Which must unfortunately mean I do not own Harry Potter. Thankfully I own this plot. Yay! **

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From that day, I never let it show what I really felt for him. I was going to keep my promise to my father. After all, Weasley's and Malfoy's don't hold hands, skipping around the Transfiguration Courtyard. We were exactly where we were supposed to be.

I remember at the sorting ceremony, when Professor McGonagall called, "Weasley, Rose." I stood up and sat on the bench and heard the hat laugh in my ear.

"Another Weasley," the hat said with a chortle, "You breed like gnomes. I know just what to do with you. GRYFFINDOR!"

There I was, in Gryffindor, like everyone else in my family.

When Professor McGonagall cried, "Malfoy, Scorpius," my heart skipped a beat. I was beginning to doubt that it would ever function normally again. He sat up on the bench, soaking wet from saving me. The hat had barely touched his head when it yelled, "SLYTHERIN!" Typical. We were in rival houses.

I made my Dad proud in our first potions lesson. Professor Slugghorn started us out with a tricky potion called the Bulbadox Potion, which cause the person who touched it to break out in boils.

I laughed and whispered in Albus's ear, "I remember hearing Uncle George and his brother put this in some kid's underwear when they were here!"

We burst out laughing. As Professor Slugghorn came around, nodded occasionally, his jaw went slack when he looked into my cauldron.

"Marvelous!" He burst out in a sing-song voice, "It's absolutely superb! I do say, what is your name, young lady?"

I smirked at Scorpius, who was gasping, and said, "Rose Weasley, Professor."

He smiled down at me, "Rose Weasley, eh? Weasley! You must Ginny Weasley's niece, yes? Oh, brilliant girl she is; was a particularly good hexer. Saw her cast Bat-Boogey hex, rather spectacular. She married Harry Potter, correct? Brilliant, brave boy. Such a fine man. SAY! You're mother must be Hermione Granger, correct?"

I nodded, and went of ranting about how smart my mum was. Yeah, no joke. Anyone who walked within five feet of her knows she's brilliant. Uncle Harry said he can sometimes hear ideas whizzing around in her head.

So, day after day that was my mask: brilliant daughter of Hermione Granger, niece of the famous Harry Potter, and cousin of the troublesome James Potter. It felt like the only person who didn't expect me to be perfect was Al. I remember being the library one day, Al whining.

"Rosie, we've been here for 3 hours! Can we please leave?"

I raised my eyebrow at Al, who stuck his tongue out at me, continued to write his essay for History of Magic, occasionally muttering something that sounded an awful lot like, "Stupid Professor Binns… who cared about goblin revolutions anyway… 14 feet of bloody parchment…"

Then, Scorpius and Vincent walked in. I had started to befriend Vincent, because he was a nice bloke (nothing like the man he was named after, I hear) and because it bugged the heck out of Scorpius.

"Hey, Vincent!" I called across the library, waving.

He grinned back.

"Hey, Rose!"

I paused to look at the scowl on Scorpius's face. Vincent winked at me. Our evil plan was working perfectly. I was so bad. Vincent walked over and sat down next to me, Scorpius pretended to reluctantly follow.

"What's this Weasley?" He snatched my scroll of parchment. "'The Highlights of the Medieval Goblin Revolution, By Rose Weasley'."

I felt my ears turning red.

"Give me that!" I shouted, attempting to snatch it, but it ripped in half instead. Scorpius smirked. I grabbed my wand from my robe and muttered "_Reparo_." I turned, furiously, to face Scorpius.

"You are the world's biggest jerk, Malfoy!"

A soft pink hue flushed his pale cheeks, but Weasley's and Malfoy's arguing never back down.

"Think so, Weasley?"

I felt like my entire body was on fire. Really, of all people, why did I have to fall in love with _him_! I grabbed my parchment, my bag, and Al by the elbow, and turned away. Unfortunately, my foot caught the side of the table and I tripped, falling straight into Scorpius's arms, and falling on the floor with a "THUD!" straight on top of him. We stared into each other's eyes for a minute, until he remembered that he hated me, and he pulled himself up. He offered his hand down to help me up. I refused.

"I don't need your help to get up, thank you," I spat.

He sneered, "Apparently you need my help to walk."

With that, I stormed out of the library, my red hair swished and bouncing behind me. That was it; I couldn't take it any longer. That _thing _was going to drive me insane. I reached the Gryffindor common room and told Al I would see him later. I climbed up the girl's dormitory's stairs until I reached the 7th years dormitory. I knocked and the door opened a second later. My beautiful cousin Victorie answered the door.

"Rosie! Come on in." She grabbed my hand and led me inside the dormitory. Makeup, hair and beauty potions, and diaries lay all of the room and it seemed as if the lingering smell of brewing love potion would never leave the room.

I plopped down on her bed and stared at her. I wish I could look like Victorie. She was flawless, partially because her mother, Aunt Fleur, was part Veela. Her long, strawberry blonde hair flowed perfectly. Her bright blue eyes looked wide awake and her perfectly heart shaped face held her sweet smile. She pulled me on her lap.

"What's up, kiddo?" She started to braid my hair; I loved it when she did that.

I sighed dramatically.

"Scorpius Malfoy, that's what's up."

She laughed while she twisted my hair softly. I love her with all my heart. She was the big sister I never had.

"Draco Malfoy's son, eh? Not a bad looking kid, for a first year."

She giggled and ticked my ribs.

"I think he's gonna drive me crazy, Torie! When he saved me from drowning the Welcome Back Feast, I thought we were gonna be friends. Now, he glares at me and I glare at him. He acts like he hates me but at the same time…" My voiced trailed away for the minute, I felt like lost it. I was thinking about those eyes again, "I felt like someone poured a Shocking Potion over me when he touched me. But… he acts like he can't stand me!"

A girl with long, black hair and misty blue eyes in the bed next to Victorie laughed.

"Torie, I'll bet you 20 Galleons that those two will end up getting married," she said with a grin.

Victorie winked back and turned to me.

"Don't worry, Rosie. Give it some time. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron were the same way, Dad told me. He said they bickered like crazy before making out at the Battle of Hogwarts while Uncle Harry was killing Lord Voldemort."

I laughed out loud. My parents were nutso.

"Besides," she said with a grin, "No one really starts dating at Hogwarts till their third or fourth year, so you have a few years to think about it. Just remember – all boys are stupid, great prats. Take Teddy for example. He thinks it's funny to turn his hair electric blue," she rolled her eyes, "Give him some time to grow up."

Her words rang in my head as I ran down to the common room to grab my scroll and head of to History of Magic. Al and I walked silently to the classroom; I think he knew better than to talk to me. When Professor Binns handed back my essay at the end of the lesson with an O, I didn't even smirk at Scorpius. I didn't even care anymore.

In the Great Hall next morning at breakfast, an eagle owl flew onto my arm and held a single note. I opened it up.

_Dear Rosie,_

_I know what you're going through is really hard. It's hard to have a crush on someone who's being a complete pig head. You will get through this though. Remember, you're only 11. You're going to have six more years to figure this whole boys thing out. They can be idiots sometime. But, if he has any sort of a brain, he won't be able to resist a cutie-pie like you!_

_I love you!_

_Your big sister,_

_Victorie_

I flashed a grin down the table at Victorie. She smiled back. From that moment, the game was still on. I would not let Scorpius win. I was going to make him eat his own parchment.

"You okay, Rosie?" Al asked in a worried voice, "You sort of look like you want to kill someone."

I laughed, "Nope, Al. Come on, don't we have Divination next? Don't wanna be late!"

Al whined, "I do get quite sick of Professor Boulevend predicting my death every day."

He scowled.

I burst out giggling; Al looked at me like I was insane. I sort of was in a way. I was high on determination. I would not let that boy know he got to me, if it was the last thing I ever did.

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**Don't you just love Vincent? Oh, gosh, I do. What a sweetie. Well, thanks for reading this guys. Thank you to every single one of you. Just dropping a subtle little hint here, if you review, it would make my day! I wonder what will happen in Chapter 3...?**


	3. Tried and Failed

**Hey everyone! I'm so happy, just for the record. Deliriously happy. Why you may ask? Simple, dear readers, one of my absolute favorite characters becomes apart of the story now! Seriously, she's quite awesome, I must admit. I also have to say: please bear with me. These first few chapters I wrote several months ago and I am NOT pleased with at all. However, they do open the story quite well. The chapters get much longer and much better written after this point, so stay tuned for the coming attractions! :) **

**Disclaimer: My parents did not meet on a train leaving King's Cross Station, they met at college (boring, I know...). This however draws the conclusion that I am not JK Rowling, so I do not own Harry Potter. But I do own the plot. Muahaha.**

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There were times that I thought I might purely die of exhaustion from lying to myself and everyone else in the world about that boy. I grew emotionally unstable as I continued to pretend I hated Scorpius, pretend like it didn't bother me that he actually did hate me, and confiding my real feelings in Victorie. I never told Al, but I imagine he could guess. After all, Al knew me better than anyone. But, unfortunately, Al accidently drank a full goblet of Felix Felicis. Normally it's a good potion, but when taken in advance, it can cause extreme giddiness. I remember Al laughing and leaning on my shoulder during dinner in the Great Hall exclaiming, "Look, Rosie! Stars! Look at them, they are everyone. Pretty little stars! HELLO MR. STAR!" So Madam Pomfrey has him locked in the Hospital Wing until he can stop laughing at everything. Professor Slugghorn said he left a cauldron full in the Potions dungeon earlier in the day and Al must of grabbed it, but by the way James was laughing, I think he gave it to Al on purpose. Git.

So I was alone for several days, locking myself in the library every spare second I wasn't in class or in the Great Hall, like only being my mother's daughter could do. One day, another Gryffindor I didn't know with long golden brown, swishy hair and blue eyes that perfectly matched the ocean sat down next to me.

"Hi!" She said with a smile, "I'm Mariana Corner! I see you in here a lot. Your name is Rose, right?"

I nodded. She seemed like a sweet girl. And only God knew how much I needed a girl friend.

"Nice to meet you, say, your dad in Ron Weasley, right?"

I nodded again. This was the first time anyone had mentioned my dad. I had heard lots of "your mum", "your aunt", and "your uncle's" while I was here, but no one had mentioned my dad before. Mariana giggled.

"My Daddy dated your aunt when they were here," she said, her cheeks turning pink.

I laughed, "My Aunt Ginny?"

She giggled and her hair swished behind her at her every movement.

"My Dad's name is Michael Corner. You should ask your aunt if she remembers him!"

I thought long and hard. Michael Corner… oh yes! I remember my Aunt Ginny talking about him once, she broke up with him because he threw a fuss that Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw in Quidditch. I burst out laughing and giggling, and was thrown a nasty look by one of the Hufflepuff prefects. I attempted to keep my giggling to a minimum, but with as much success as James trying to stay out of detention for a week.

Mariana and I studied with each other until we heard shuffling of books and feet out the library, so we packed up our books and followed the crowd out students to the Great Hall.

"So, was all of your family in Gryffindor?" I asked Mariana on our way walking to the Great Hall. She laughed in shook her head.

"All my family has been in Ravenclaw for, errrr," she seemed to be counting several generations in her head, "Fifteen generations. My Mum and Dad were disappointed, but they'd rather it be Gryffindor than Slytherin!" she said with a chuckle.

I had to smile. At least she got to break some expectations. I was right were all the Weasley's have been forever: Gryffindor. But, I was happy and that was a start. I had Al. I now had Mariana, who quickly became my best friend, the other half of me, and my teammate. Very early in the on Saturday morning, Al, Mariana, and I headed for the Quidditch pitch, the glorious sunshine glistening around us.

"I don't know why we're even going," Al grumbled, since he isn't a morning person, "First years never make the team."

I rolled my eyes; Mariana coughed something that sounded an awful lot like "Way to be Jonny Rain Cloud, Al…"

"Uncle Harry did!"

Al rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well that's my Dad for you. Defies the most evil wizard ever when he's one, becomes a kick-butt Seeker, escapes him a trillion more times, finally finishes him off, and marries the hottest girl at Hogwarts. Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not him."

"Trust me, we noticed," Mariana said, while appropriately sticking out her tongue.

"Okay, say that one of us actually makes the team, what are the odds that the rest of us will."

I quickly scanned the crowd of Gryffindor's trying out for the three empty Chaser positions.

"3 in 17," I said, thinking _I would have just made my mother so proud._

The three of us stood in the back of the crowd, ignoring the smirks from older students, listening to the captain's run-through of the auditions when a laugh came from the stands.

"Al?!"

We turned around. There was James, surrounding by his all his friends, looking like Christmas had come early.

"You're trying out for Chaser? You're JOKING."

Mariana, red in the face with anger, shouted up to the stands.

"Shut up Potter, you're just scared that if Al makes the team, he'll be a bigger Quidditch star than you."

Her words had quite an effect. Several people cracked up, some of James's friends cackled and shouted, "Oh baby! Don't wanna mess with that girl, James." James flushed with embarrassment, but quickly regained his swagger.

"Oh, please, Corner, you should be smart enough to know that I don't need Quidditch to stay on top. Shouldn't you? After all, weren't your Mummy and Daddy in Ravenclaw for all of eternity?"

Mariana's eyebrows pushed themselves together, and she looked furiously around left to right, her long ponytail swishing furiously. The Gryffindor Beater was standing nearby with a struggling Bludger and bat in his hand. In the blink of an eye, Mariana grabbed the bat and the Bludger, and beat it ferociously towards James, hitting him straight in the stomach, making him fall over wheezing. The crowd burst out laughing, and the Gryffindor captain seemed to be fighting the urge to go and hug Mariana.

"That's enough," he said in an unconvincing, down to business voice. So, off we went for trials. Naturally, being first years, we were put in the back of the line for trials. They didn't go well. Broomsticks were colliding with each other, Quaffles were being dropped left and right, and that stray Bludger from earlier whacked a fifth year of her broomstick so hard she landed on her wand when she hit the ground, and I'm sure people on the other side of the castle heard the loud "KABOOM!" Finally, the exhausted try-outers left the pitch, leaving just Al, Mariana, and me.

"Alright," the weary Gryffindor captain said, "You three are the last. Give it your best."

Our best we gave. We all worked perfectly together. It was like we could read each other's minds, seemingly flying together. At the end of the tryouts, the captain smiled so big and clapped loudly along with the rest of team.

"Excellent! You guys were the best out of all the try-outs! It's amazing you're first years! You guys got the position! I'm Aiden, by the way. Aiden Wood!"

James was in a very bad mood by the time lunch came around.

At lunch, we got many high fives from excited Gryffindor's, Ravenclaw's, and Hufflepuff's. I tried not so smirk at Scorpius when I saw him gasping at me from the Slytherin table.

Tried… and failed.

The next day, with my trunk backed for my home, we all loaded on the boats to cross the lake to the train station in Hogsmead. Al was sitting with James in another boat. Mariana and I loaded into the last boat, ecstatic about having one all to ourselves, until we felt a bump behind us.

I whipped my head around and saw Scorpius and Vincent climbing into the boat.

_Great, _I thought, rolling my eyes.

"Going to fall into the lake again, Weasley?"

"Going to make me fall in again, Malfoy?"

We glared at each other for a few seconds, before Mariana and Vincent both cleared their throats loader than necessary.

Christmas break was long. I thought I was going mental. I couldn't think straight. How could I hate, despise, and detest (Mariana decided to morph them all together – hapisetestion - which yes, is not a real word) someone but yet at the same time be absolutely, incomprehensively in love with him?

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**Chapter 3 complete! By the way, if you haven't figured it out yet, the character I was so ecstatic Mariana. Seriously, she's so funny. I love her to death. I can't wait for the story to unfold more and you can see lots more of her! So, what happens next? Hmm, I don't know. Guess you'll have to tune in to find out. By the way, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed. Seriously, it makes me feel amazing. Oh by the way, did you notice the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain's name? Aiden _Wood_? Yes, that is Oliver Wood's son! Just had to throw that little tid bit in. Thanks for everything, you amazing readers, you!**


	4. Diagon Alley and Firewhiskey

**Hey, beautiful readers! Sorry about the mix up with the last chapter. I wasn't happy about the intro so I decided to take it down and re-upload it. Once again, I'm so sorry for the confusion. As I have said twelve times now (not really, I exaggerate a lot), I'm not happy with these first couple chapters. I pinky promise they get better soon! I learned so much about writing from the time I started "A Beautiful Problem" to now. Now, let's jump into the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: If I were to say I own Harry Potter and that I am JK Rowling, that would be a complete, utter lie. **

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Christmas holiday went by in a blink of an eye. After hearing "Way to show that Malfoy boy, Rosie! That's my girl!" all break, I was ready to get back to Hogwarts. I wished I had had something interesting to tell all the Gryffindor's over the holiday, but mine was just like always: James pranked everyone in sight, Dad fell down a flight of stairs, Mum broke another testing record, and Uncle Harry saved all of wizard kind again (not really, I just felt like throwing that in for good measure) On August 30, Dad sat up suddenly in the living room.

"Merlin's pants! Rosie, you go back to school in two days!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, like it was shocking news.

I rolled my eyes. Dad had always been a bit on the slow side. How he ever got Mum, you may ask? I think we shall never know.

"About time you wake up and notice, Dad."

He jumped up frantically and ran upstairs, coming back down in his wizard's robes.

"Hermione, dear," he shouted at the top of his lungs up the stairs, "I'm taking Rosie to Diagon Alley to get parchment, quills, boy deflectors, and stuff like that!"

Mum called something from up the stairs, but by that time, he had grabbed my arm and we have disapperated. The alley formed itself in front of us. The street was filled with other Hogwarts students preparing for the new semester also. Walking in front of me, I saw a girl with long brown hair, swishing in the magical breeze.

"Mariana!"

She turned around with a huge smile, running to tackle me with a hug.

"Oh, Rosie, I can't believe this! Oh, Daddy, this is Rosie!"

Michael Corner, who his daughter had taken after drastically, smiled down at me.

"Well, hi there Rosie. It's nice to meet you, finally. Mariana's been talking about you a lot." He looked behind his daughter, "Ron! Good to see you again!"

Dad smiled back, being especially kind to him, which was odd, considering Michael had dated his sister.

"How is Ginny doing?" Michael asked.

Dad's smiled flickered a little, but he responded cheerfully.

"She and Harry Potter got married."

Michael's eyes, which were the exact ocean shade of blue as his daughter's, got wide with surprise.

"Really? Well, that's great! Harry's a good guy, how's he doing?"

"Great," Dad said, "He's head of the Auror Department and I'm second, Hermione's head of Magical Law Enforcement, and Gin's Senior Quidditch Reporter for the Daily Prophet."

"Wow," Michael said, obviously impressed, "That's great! I married Mandy Brocklehurst; she was in our year, but in Ravenclaw. She and I are both Healers at St. Mungo's."

Dad nodded enthusiastically, and Mariana cleared her throat loudly.

"Dad, can Rosie and I go wander?"

"Yes, Mariana, BUT NOT ONE STEP DOWN KNOCKTURN ALLEY, understand me?"

Mariana and I linked arms and skipped down the street, and into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"Uncle George!"

My blue, twinkly eyed, red haired, and always up to no good uncle ran over and lifted me in the air.

"How's Rosie Posie Shmosie?!" he said, while tickling me in the stomach.

I giggled.

"Good, oh Uncle George, this is my best friend Mariana Corner."

"Corner, did you say?" Uncle George said with the air of surprise, "Wasn't there a Corner bloke that Ginny snogged her fourth year at Hogwarts?"

Mariana pretending to barf.

"Too much information, Mr. Weasley."

Uncle George raised his eyebrows and attempted to look menacing.

"Now look here, young lady. Mr. Weasley is my father, bless his soul that old, loony, Muggle lover. You can call me George, Uncle George, that weirdo, Shop-keeper-dude, basically anything but Bertha, because that's a creepy name."

Mariana's face turned red.

"My grandmother's name is Bertha."

George's ears went red.

"Oh, so sorry, Mariana."

She laughed.

"Gotchya!"

George's chest welled up with proudness and patted her on the shoulder.

"Good choice, Rosie. Well, Mariana, any friend Rosie Posie Shmosie is a friend of mine. If you'd like anything, just pick it up, it's yours!"

Mariana looked like someone just told her James had a Quidditch accident. Skipping around, she picked up some Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, a Pygmy Puff ("She's so cute! I'm naming her Rosie, after you!"), and most everything in the WonderWitch line. She claims she didn't take any fireworks, but I saw her transfigure something and shove it into her pocket. Half of me felt I should warn James for something exploding next time he tries to go asleep in his dorm bed. Next, we headed off to Twilfit & Tattings for these new witch's headbands that were all the rage in Hogwarts. Thirdly, we actually got what we were there to get – stationary, quills, potions ingredients, and textbooks – and popped into Quality Quidditch Supplies super quickly. Finally, after a sundae (or two… or three) at Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlour, we found are father's having a drink in The Leaky Cauldron.

"Hi, Rosie," Dad said with a smile, "Got all your stuff?"

I nodded. Michael got up from his stool and put his arm around Mariana.

"We should probably be heading home; Mummy should be home from her shift soon."

"Oh goodie!" Mariana said with a smile. "I'll see you at Platform 9 and 3/4!"

Dad made his way to the fireplace.

"Had a few firewhiskey's," he said with a grin, "Might not wanna risk Apperating. Let's take the Floo Network just to be on the safe side.

I rolled my eyes.

"A few, Dad?"

I grabbed some of the Floo Powder, threw it into the fireplace, which immediately roared emerald green.

"52 Dumbledore's Pathway!" I shouted, and I stepped out of the fireplace in the kitchen.

"Hi, sweetums," my Mum said, not looking up from her book, "How was Diagon Alley?"

"Good, I ran into Mariana and her dad! Dad and Mr. Corner hit it off," I said, just as my father stepped out of the fire.

"Really?" Mum said surprised, "I figured he would have beat him up for snogging Ginny her fourth year."

"Me too," I whispered back, as Dad collapsed asleep on the couch.

"Firewhiskey?" Mum asked smartly.

I nodded. We all knew Dad couldn't take too much of it. He liked to pretend he could if he wanted to, though. We humor him, because he's Dad.

Bright and early Saturday morning, we all headed down to Platform 9 and ¾, casually slipping through the barrier, so that the Muggles wouldn't notice.

"Hey, James, there's your girlfriend," I said pointedly, seeing Alice Longbottom standing next to her mother.

"Shut up," James said, turning bright red.

"Hey, Hannah!" Aunt Ginny yelled, waving to Mrs. Longbottom, who walked over with her son and daughter.

"Hi Jerry, Hi Alice!" I said with a wave.

"Hey," the two twins responded.

Jerry, who looked remarkably like his father, and Alice, who look remarkable like her mother, both stood there waiting to run off the second the Hogwarts Express chugged up.

"Bye, Mum!" the twins yelled as soon as they glimpsed the scarlet train, permitted their mother to kiss them on the cheek, and running off with James to go see their friends.

My mum and Aunt Ginny both kissed me goodbye.

"Now remember, Rosie," said my dad, putting his hand on my shoulder, "All boys are icky and terrible, and you will get Spattergroit if you touch them, got it?"

I rolled my eyes and walked off towards the train.

"And remember to beat Malfoy at everything!"

I continued to walk.

"EVERYTHING, ROSIE, EVERYTHING!"

"Shut up, Ron!" my mum said in an annoyed voice, and I heard her whip out her wand, "_Silencio!" _

He was probably still shouting something, thank God I couldn't hear.

While walking through the hallway, I accidently bumped into Scorpius.

"Walk much, Weasley?" Scorpius said, though he couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, occasionally, Malfoy," I said, though I couldn't keep from smiling also. Walking past him, I found Al, Mariana, Jack Thomas, and Tommy Finnigan sitting a compartment.

"Hey," Mariana said with a smile, "You ready?"

I smiled.

"You bet your wand I am. Where's your chess set, Al?"

So we all laughed, ate a whole box full of Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, played some chess (which I dominated at), and road off toward my favorite place in the world – Hogwarts School of Wizardry.

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**Did you notice Ron and Hermione's address? Huh? Did you? "Dumbledore's Pathway". Hey, they have Godric's Hallow after Godric Gryffindor. I think Dumbledore needed his own, special village, too :) Thanks for all you're comments! They are incredible! **


	5. The Bravest of Heroes

**Hello, lovely readers! As you may notice, the chapters are starting to get longer. Yay :) Hopefully I can get to the good stuff soon enough, because, if you have been reading my intros, my earlier chapters I am not pleased with at all. I really like this scene between Harry, Ginny, Al, Rose, and James in this chapter. It shows this really close family relationship between the Weasley's and the Potter's. It also shows a lot of hurt that still holds on from the First and Second Wizarding War. Alright, so are you ready to dive into the next chapter? Good, because I am!**

**Disclaimer: I am saving up to go visit a friend of mine this summer. If I was JK Rowling, I wouldn't need to save, because I'd already have the money to pay for my flight! Since I am still saving, I can safely come to the conclusion that I do not own Harry Potter.**

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In a blink of an eye, my first year at Hogwarts was gone. A mourning of loss came over me as I packed for my second year: If my first year went by that fast, how quickly would the rest of my childhood go by? Where would I work? What would I be? Who would I (gulp) marry?

Shaking aside that scary thought (and the even more horrifying mental images), I continued to pack my trunk. _Where is Pigwidgon? _I ran downstairs and searching around.

"Mum, where's Pig? Is he delivering a letter?"

"No," my Mum shrugged, "I don't know where he is. Does Hugo have him?"

I gritted my teeth.

"He better not."

I walked up the stairs and banging on his door.

"Open up, Hugo!"

No answer. Not like I really expect one. Sneaking quietly into my parent's room, I grabbed my Dad's wand from the sideboard table and ran back out into the hallway.

"_Alohomora!_"

I opened the door and saw Hugo tying a bow around Pig's head.

"HUGO RONALD WEASLEY!"

Hugo's head shot around to the door, his eyes wide with fear. He shoved Pig under the bed, attempting to hide him, but the old little owl kept hooting indignantly and fluttering around loudly. I reached under and grabbed him; Pig hooted gratefully.

"What's the big deal, Rosie?" He said defensively, as if it was like borrowing a quill, "I just wanted to dress him up!"

"HE'S NOT A BARBIE DOLL, YOU INSOLENT PRAT! HE'S OLD AND FRAGILE! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY MUM AND DAD WON'T GET YOU AN OWL! YOU'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH! AND IF YOU _WANT_ TO GO TO HOGWARTS NEXT YEAR, YOU BETTER STARTS TO LEARN SOME RESPECT FOR OTHER PEOPLE'S STUFF, BECAUSE I'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING MISTER, IF YOU GET TO GO NEXT YEAR, YOU CAN'T JUST GRAB ALL THE STUFF IN YOUR DORM THAT BELONGS TO THE OTHER KIDS, BECAUSE PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL WILL KICK YOU OUT FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY –"

"Rosie," my Dad called groggily, "What's all the shouting all about?"

I glared at Hugo, and started my way out of his room, carrying Pig under my arm. Putting him in his little cage, I pointed Dad's wand at my trunk.

"_Locomotor Trunk_."

Quietly sneaking the wand next to my sleeping father, I skipped bacl downstairs next to my mum, noticing she had bags under her eyes and kept nodding her head sleepily while sipping her steaming cup of coffee.

"Stay up late writing?"

She nodded groggily as I pushed my trunk into the fireplace. I set Pig on top.

"I probably should Floo over to Aunt Ginny's and Uncle Harry's about now. We should be leaving for King's Cross Station in a few."

I went over to hug and kiss my mother.

"Just do the best you can, Rosie," my mom said with a smile, "And we'll be proud. If you beat the Malfoy boy or even if you don't, we won't care. Dad will just pout a lot."

I laughed, and threw some Floo Powder into the fireplace. Jumping on my trunk, I yelled "12 Grimmauld Place, London!" And their kitchen formed in front of me.

"Hi, Rosie!" Al said excitedly when he saw me.

I grinned at my cousin and jumped off my trunk. Picking up some toast, I sat down and Al and I excitedly chatted about being second years. James walked downstairs, his hair messed up and spiked to perfection, and winked at me. I grinned back. Pig twittered excitedly at James.

"Hey, Pig," James said, nodded towards the old, tiny owl, who was making a racket, "Do you ever get tired?"

"No," Al and I said at once together.

James shrugged and threw his great white owl, named Hedwig, after an owl Uncle Harry had once, out the window.

"Who are you sending a letter to?" Al asked.

"No one," James said, blushing.

"Is it Alice?" Al said with a grin.

"No!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not!"

"You're a liar!"

"Shut up!"

"Oi! Can it!" Aunt Ginny yelled as she walked in, hitting James and Al over the head with her broomstick.

"Abusive much, Mum?" James asked, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

Aunt Ginny shrugged and looked around.

"Harry, we need to leave in half an hour!"

A voice from upstairs said, "Coming, dear!" and a few seconds later Uncle Harry bounded downstairs, putting his wand in his back pocket.

"'Don't put you're wand in your back pocket, son! Better wizards than you have lost a buttocks that way!'" Aunt Ginny chortled.

Uncle Harry burst out into a harder laughter than I'd ever seen him. He nearly fell over on the floor laughing, and both he and Aunt Ginny seemed to be struggling to breathe normally. After his head emerged from his hands, his green eyes sparkling with laughter tears, he still seemed to be having trouble keeping a straight face.

"Freaks," James said, staring at his parents as they were the world's strangest people.

"What was that about?" Al asked, looking from his Mum to his Dad wildly.

"There was a great Auror back when we were your age," Uncle Harry said, the laughter tears threatening to burst any second, "His name was Alastor Moody. He was a brave, brave man. He died for me."

"Big shocker there," James retorted.

Everyone snapped their heads to look at him.

"I mean," James started, looking curious at the sudden burst of attention, "Anytime you are talking about a wizard from your time, almost every single one died for you."

"Yes," Harry said humbly, "Many people did die for me. They were all the bravest of heroes. They are the reason we can live without fear now."

There was a silent pause as everyone took a moment to remember the heroes, in honor of their death.

"Anyway, my aunt and uncle locked me in my bedroom one summer because my cousin Dudley almost died of a Dementor attack. One day when they left, the Order came to bust me out. That's was Moody shouted at me walking down the stairs," said Uncle Harry, beginning to chuckle again.

"And then," said Aunt Ginny, looking inches away from a hysterical breakdown, "Teddy's mother, Tonks, responded, 'Who do you know who's lost a buttocks?'"

The two burst out into wild, frantic barks of laughter, and couldn't seem to even stand straight. The three children stared at the two for quite a while as they regained their breaths.

"Mummy," Al asked, looking at his mother, "What was Teddy's mum like?"

Ginny's brown eyes seemed to change a hue warmer, she had a soft grin on her face, and had the expression of one who had just smelled something pleasant.

"Wonderful," she said, looking as she was stuck in a dream, "She used to Metamorph her nose into different shapes during dinner to amuse as all. She was quite clumsy, too. Always tripping over things."

"Now I see where Teddy got that from," James muttered under his breath.

"She was an exceptionally kind and lighthearted witch. I remember her telling Harry once not to worry about not being a prefect, because she never was one, either. She said her Head of House seemed to think she lacked certain qualities. When Harry asked her what, she responded, 'Oh, the ability to behave myself.'"

The group in the kitchen laughed, although their hearts had felt as if a dagger tore through it.

"What was Teddy's dad like?" Al asked, as if curious to know about every wizard who died in the Battle of Hogwarts.

"A true Marauder, through in out and out," Harry said in admiration, "He taught me how to do my Patronus."

"Is it true when you get near a Dementor, you hear your worst memories?" Al asked.

Uncle Harry nodded gravely. Aunt Ginny reached over and grabbed his hand, looking up at her husband with love.

"I hear my parents dying when they get close to me," Uncle Harry said softly.

Suddenly, I didn't see him as Uncle Harry. For the first time, looking at him, I saw the Harry Potter everyone always talked about. The hero who lost his parents, his godfather, the closest thing to a father he had, and his friends. I had never pitied anyone else more in the world. Al looked up into his father's identical green eyes. Even James look sobered.

"I heard my Dad shouting, 'Lily! It's him! Take Harry and run!' I heard Voldemort shouting, 'Stand aside, you silly girl!' and her screaming, 'No! Not Harry! Not Harry! Kill me! Kill me instead!'"

Uncle Harry rested his head on his hands, but through his fingers I saw tears sliding out of his eyes. Apparently it was very hard for him to talk about. Aunt Ginny slid her fingers into his, and pulled him in for a hug. Al went over and squeezed his way between them, and wrapped his arms around his father. I went and did the same. Even James walked over and put his hand of his father's shoulder.

"But now, I have you," Harry said, smiling down at the three of us, "The greatest gift I could ever ask for."

Aunt Ginny smiled and seemed to hold her husband's hand even tighter. Al seemed to me holding back tears; I reached over and grabbed his hand. We thought we were having a lovely moment until, leave it to James…

"Enough sappiness, guys! We got to get to King's Cross Station, because I highly doubt the Hogwarts Express will wait for our sappy family moment to be over, because who knows how long that will last."

Uncle Harry laughed, as if he was dying to for so long. Aunt Ginny thwacked James on the head for the second time this morning. Uncle Harry ran upstairs and a loud thud sounded off him coming back downstairs, puffing, and carrying both Al and James's trunks.

"Hon," Aunt Ginny said with a laugh, "You could have just levitated it downstairs."

"Oh yeah," Uncle Harry said, as if he had momentarily forgotten he was a wizard, "I knew that."

James chortled and muttered something along the lines of "Muggle raised…" Uncle Harry grabbed his wand.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

The trunks moved themselves on top of mine in the fireplace.

"Why are you putting them in there, Dad?" Al asked curiously.

"They set up several fireplaces connected to the Floo Network directly on Platform 9 ¾. It was getting difficult for wizards from other countries to make it there on time."

All four of us squeezed into the fireplace and Uncle Harry threw the Floo Powder into the fireplace, jumped in at the last moment, and roared, "Platform 9 ¾!"

The platform formed in front of us. Al scrambled to get out as fast as he could. Aunt Ginny was coughing out ashes.

"Umm," Uncle Harry said sheepishly, "I think we had to upgrade the fireplace to connect it properly."

Aunt Ginny raised a flaming red eyebrow and coughed.

"You think?"

Uncle Harry pulled out his wand and worked on levitating our trunks in the train. Aunt Ginny turned to James, staring down at him stubbornly.

"Now listen, buddy, if I get one more owl from Hogwarts about you wandering into the Forbidden Forest, which is forbidden for excellent reasons, or blowing up toilets-"

"Mum, I never blew up toilets!" James said defensively, "That was Uncle George and his brother!"

"Well, you are cut out of the same cloth as them. I'm serious, James. I get owls all the time for ridiculous things. What, might I ask, possessed you to set off a hundred firecrackers in Divination?"

"Cause, Professor Boulevend's a boring old whack-job," James said with a shrug, as though it was completely normal.

"Alright," Aunt Ginny said, pulling each of them in for a hug and a kiss as the Hogwarts Express pulled up, "Be good. THAT MEANS YOU TOO JAMES," Aunt Ginny yelled at James was running off.

I ran over and hugged Uncle Harry goodbye. He kissed me on the forehead.

"Be safe, kiddo. Make sure Al doesn't run into Peeves again. He doesn't like it."

"I noticed," I said with a laugh, as Al reached over and grabbed my hand. Together, we bored the Hogwarts Express.

"Aww," said a drawling voice behind me, and I turned around to see Scorpius, "Look at that. Weasley and Potter are holding hand. Cute little cousins."

"Not like you'd know what a pleasant family member is like, Malfoy," I said coolly, my bright brown eyes flashing, "Considering your family."

Scorpius narrowed his gray eyes, and plunged his hand in his pocket for his wand. But, I was too quick for him.

"_Locomotor Mortis!" _ I shouted, making Scorpius legs locked together and he fell over.

I flounced away and into our usual compartment. Squealing with delight, I hugged my best friend, whose ocean blue eyes were twinkling. I sat down and with a smile on my face, stared out at the clouds in the grey and counted the shapes. They all seemed to be shaped like one thing: a very familiar pair of grey eyes.

The eyes I'd been dreaming about all summer.

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**Don't you love how Rose is hexing Scorpius one second, then daydreaming about his eyes the next? Oh, us girls are complicated species. So, what did you think? Did you like the sad family scene? Was it too sappy? Did you think its overly dramatic, like some people I know? (Cough... you know who you are...) Please review and tell me what you think. You're comments make my day, guys. You have no idea :) Hmm, how will their second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry start? **


	6. You Wish

**I'm so excited about uploading this chapter! The chapters start to get longer and much better from this point on. Still not perfect, but not as bad as before! I really love this chapter because... ITS THE DUELING TOURNAMENT! Eep, I'm so excited! Are you? Well, you better be! Plus, there is a super romantic dream that Rose has in this chapter. I'll cut this intro short and let's get into it!**

**Disclaimer: My stories have, so far, never been made into world wide phenomenons, so I bet I'm not JK Rowling. Which means, I do not own Harry Potter. Or the poem at the beginning of this chapter. All the credit for the poem goes to my friend Mandy, and all the credit for Harry Potter goes to JK Rowling. Got it? Good.**

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_Can't you see, my love?_

_This is not meant to be, my love?_

_For you and I cannot ever be one to thee,_

_For this could never be true love_

"What on earth are you writing, Rosie?" Mariana exclaimed in our dorm one night, snatching it from my hands, "Are you writing ANOTHER poem about Scorpius?"

"No!" I said defensively, snatching the parchment back, "I've never written a poem about Malfoy."

Mariana rolled her eyes and continued to rub a straightening potion on her hair.

"You know, you could use some of this, Rosie, no offence," she said with a wink.

I scoffed. What good would it do? How in the world would in make me any smarter to smother a potion on my hair? I looked up at Mariana, who was giving me puppy eyes and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Just this once, Rosie, please?" Mariana whined.

"Alright, if you promise to never bug me about it again!" I said with a glare.

Mariana squealed and ran over to my bed. She poured the whole cauldron on my head, yet it didn't spill all over my shoulders or get in my eyes; my hair magically soaked it up. She rolled it on a bun on top of my head.

"Don't touch it till morning," she warned, "Or you won't be happy."

"I can hardly wait," I said in a dry voice, and putting my Potions parchment on the sideboard table, I curled up in my four-post bed.

I had a dream that night. A dream that made my cheeks flush, my heart pound, and a small smile curl on my lips. I was in the Great Hall, and it was furnished even more beautifully that usual. It looked like a summer, sunshine wonderland. The floor had turned into a beautiful, flower filled meadow. It looked like heaven. I looked several years older and several inches taller. I was wearing a mint green, flowy summer dress with a lavender belt and a pair of white flats. I was sitting at one of the beautiful tables when a voice behind me said, "Care to dance, m'lady?"

I turned around. It was Scorpius. He also looked several years older, he was much taller, much more muscular, and his grey eyes had a twinkle in them. I scoffed.

"Come to gloat?" I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him.

"No," he said seriously, "I thought you looked stunningly gorgeous and couldn't bear to keep myself away. Happy?"

He extended a hand. I hesitated.

"It's a dance, not a proposal, Weasley," he said with a smile on his face.

I grabbed his hand. He looked surprised but thrilled. He led me to the sunlit dance floor and pulled me closely. And we danced. We seemed to move as one. I felt a tingle on my hand and waist; the two placing he was touching me. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I leaned my head on his shoulder. I felt his lips tickle my ear.

"You know what, Weasley?"

I smiled down at his shoulder.

"Yeah, Malfoy?"

He pulled me closer and I felt him running his hand through my hair.

"I think I'm too weak to fight it anymore."

I pulled my head up and looked straight into his eyes.

"Fight what?" I asked curiously.

The corner of his mouth pulled in for an adorable, half smile. One of his fingers was still lazily twisted in my hair.

"I love you," he breathed.

I stared straight his eyes, not daring to blink. If I was dreaming, which I was but we'll get to that later, I wanted to never wake. He slid his warm hands under my chin and pulled me closer.

Our lips met.

Fireworks exploded, I felt like my entire body seized up with pleasure. It was a sharp burn; better than firewhiskey. He smiled down at me.

"Rosie," he said, looking at me with the eyes that made me faint

"What?" I asked, smiling.

"Rosie," he repeated, still grinning.

I whacked him on the arm playfully.

"What?!"

"ROSIE!"

My eyes snapped open. By that time, I had forgotten the dream entirely. Mariana was whacking me with her pillow, her ocean blue eyes bulging like a kid on Christmas morning.

"What?" I said groggily.

"Your hair, your hair! Let's take it down!"

I threw my pillow at her.

"Can a woman not sleep in on a Saturday morning around here?"

"Nope!" she said, bouncing up and down, "Now get your bloody hair over here, or I will hex you to oblivion. Not even oblivion. Beyond oblivion, like into another dimension of kick-buttness."

I laughed and rolled out of bed. I pulled on the bobby pin on the top of my head and let my hair fall. As it brushed my shoulders, it felt like silk. Mariana's jaw dropped.

"How does it look?" I asked nervous.

Mariana continued to stare. I thought she was going to go into a coma, until she suddenly jumped up and screamed, and several girls still asleep in their beds shouted several curse words that would make James grin. Mariana tackled me.

"You were gorgeous before but you look like a freaking model! Get your lazy butt up and look in the mirror!"

"Alright, alright," I said defensively, smacking her in the head with her own pillow for good measure, "Don't have a heart attack."

I walked over to the mirror and dropped my wand, which thus shot out red fireworks. My hair was silky straight, but had body and bounce to it. The layers I didn't even know I had laid together smoothly. I had to smile.

"Oh my gosh, Rosie," Mariana squealed, "Welcome to the world of womanhood!"

I rolled my eyes, but still giggled. Naturally, being an expert at hiding feelings, I shrugged.

"It's hair, Mari, not the lead singer of The Jersey Warlocks."

I pulled on my Saturday Muggle clothes: a pair of dark, straight jeans, a soft cotton, white tank, and my Gryffindor sweater. I pulled on a pair of fuzzy boots and smiled in the mirror, before popping my wand slightly in my mouth.

"_Oral Scourgify!"_ I gagged out.

I walked down the spiral dormitory staircase into the common room. I heard several gasps and looked around to see what everyone was gasping at. I noticed they were all looking at me.

"Blimey, Rosie," James said weakly, "What did you do to your hair?"

"Mariana did it," I responded cheerfully, and picked up burgundy red tote with the Hogwarts crest from the coffee table I had left it on the previous night. James looked up at Mariana.

"Well done, Corner," he said stiffly.

Mariana smirked.

"About time you notice, Potter," she smirked and thwacked him on the head as passing out of the entrance out of the common room.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked.

"We could steal some Polyjuice Potion from Professor Slughorn and sneak into Hogsmeade as third years."

"Yeah, that's not risky or anything. Jeez, Mari, you're wind works like a criminal. I'm going to have to work my butt off to keep you out of Azkaban! You wanna go down to the Quidditch pitch and practice?"

She shrugged and pushed open the door to the Great Hall. Immediately, I was met with lots of gasps, giggles, and stares. Several people whistled; a few yelled "Looking good, Rose!" I looked at Mariana and she was nearly in a fit of giggles. I ran into Scorpius on the way in. His jaw dropped, so did the books in his hands.

"Weasley?" he said feebly, looking me over.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to the Gryffindor table, leaving Scorpius behind speechless.

"Mari?" I said smiling, grabbing a piece of toast, "This potion is the best thing you've ever done."

She smiled and flipped her own silky hair.

"I know!"

The next Monday morning we ran from straight from our dorm to our Defense Against the Dark Arts class, completely skipping breakfast because we slept in too late. Running in five minutes late, with a frown from Professor Armand, we slid into our bench.

"Late much?" Al muttered crossly, sitting next to Tommy.

Mariana stuck her tongue out and flipped through her "Underage Defense Against the Dark Arts by Jasper Wrenchy", twirling her wand in her other hand.

"We forgot to set our wands to wake us up," I said in explanation.

Al snorted. I looked up across the room and met with a pair of grey eyes. Scorpius was looking at me. He quickly looked down, but I noticed his pale, pointed face had a flush of pink. I grinned down at my parchment and twirled my hair, which hadn't lost the entire straightening potion yet, so it was in very controlled waves today.

"Now, I need your attention class," Professor Armand said, attempting to get the wild second years attention, "The Headmistress thinks that you lot aren't getting enough hands-on Defensive training. Therefore, she has decided to restart the House dueling clubs, to give you hands on interaction but with helpful overview. This should give you a general idea of what a duel is like, but since we are only aiming to disarm, you are in no danger. I would suggest you all brush up on defensive spells."

All of the second year Gryffindor's heads turned over to me.

"Why am I always the one who has to teach everyone?" I muttered.

"Because, you're the smartest," Jack said sweet, obviously sucking up.

I sighed.

"I'll go to the library later. Everyone better be in the common room at 7 o'clock SHARP!"

The Gryffindor common room was more packed than usual; students were flowing in and out from there to the library and vice versa. The second years consumed the squashy armchairs and stuffed couches next to the fireplace.

"Alright, the wand action for Expelliarmus is different from Stupefy. Expelliamus stays with the classic 'swish and flick', a Stunner requites more of a jolt action to deliver with maximum power. Now, let's pair up. Al, wanna practice with me?"

Al's brilliant green eyes got wide and he seemed to go clammy.

"Promise you won't hurt me?" he said nervously.

"'Course not, Al. Besides, even tomorrow we aren't going to be doing _real_duels, just disarming for the time being. Besides, you're my cousin, I wouldn't really hurt you!"

Al rolled his eyes and motioned towards James, who was rubbing a bruise on his arm.

"Aw, don't be an idiot, Al," Mariana said briskly, "That's just James. Everyone wants to hex him!"

"Shut up Corner!" James yelled from across the common room.

"Yeah, that will happen the day that Vincent Goyle becomes an underwear model," Mariana said with scoff and the whole common room burst into laughter.

"He's not that bad," I said defensively.

"I know, but since he's the best mate of the chap my best mate's gaga over, I should get used to teasing him, because I suspect I'll have a lifetime of it ahead of me."

I rolled my eyes and felt my ears turning fire red, since the entire common room heard that.

"Rosie's in love with a Slytherin?!" Tommy shouted to the whole common room, "Who?"

"Shut up Finnigan!" I roared, "I'm not in love with anyone. Now can we please get back to studying or I might use some of these spells to shut you guys up."

Everybody knew better than to mess with me when I was angry, so the common room grew oddly quiet. I told everyone that they have down the basics, grabbed my parchment, and stormed up to my dormitory. Pulling my trunk from under the bed, I pulled out my favorite PJ's my mother made for me when I was 10. They were off-white with little Gryffindor lions all over them that use to roar, until Hugo threw them in the wash and forgot to add Madam Malden's Magical Laundry Powder, so the charm was washed off. I pulled a burgundy tank top over my head, and pulled a pair of fuzzy lion slippers over my socks. Predictably, Mariana walked upstairs and plopped down next to me.

"You look like you need to be on a poster in Madam Malkin's windows for Gryffindor sleep attire."

I snorted with laughter.

"I'm sorry," Mariana said, her blue eyes welling up with shame, "I shouldn't have made that joke downstairs."

"It's okay; I just wish everyone could forget."

"I can do something about that!" Mariana said, and began to run over to her bedside table and grab her shoes, "My cousin is an Obliviator for the Ministry. I could send an owl to her right now, and everyone would forget it by morning!"

I laughed.

"No, it's fine. I'll slip everyone a forgetfulness potion or something. I'm just nervous about tomorrow.

"Don't you worry one bloody bit," Mariana said, slipping her arm around me, the bright brown eyes meeting the dark blue, "You'll blast Scorpius off his Slytherin butt tomorrow. I predict it now."

Apparently my best friend has some Seer blood in her, according to what happened tomorrow.

I opened my clear brown eyes on Tuesday morning. I looked around at the sunlit dormitory. The sun was catching the reflection of a mirror on Mari's bedside table; making the whole room sparkle like a trillion little white diamonds, floating in mid air. Mariana's ocean eyes snapped open and found mine. She grinned.

"Hey, we actually got up on time this morning. I think we're early. Has the wand gone off yet?"

I started to shake my head, but at that precise moment my wand, which had been sitting delicately on my bedside table, starting shooting sparks, ribbons, and fireworks and playing lullaby music. Mariana groaned.

"Ugh, morning. I hate it."

"We all know you do," I laughed out, while pulling on my uniform.

Mariana pulled her weary body out of bed and muttered several questionable words under her breath and pulled her trunk out from under her bed. Pulling off her pajamas and digging around in her trunk, she let loose a gigantic sigh.

"Where's my best skirt?"

"You left it in the floor last night. It was dirty. One of the house elves probably took it," I guess amiably.

"Great," she groaned, "What am I gonna do now? I don't want to wear the one with the huge stain on the butt!"

I laughed and pulled out my best skirt.

"_Geminio,"_ I said with a wave of my wand, conjuring an exact copy of my skirt.

"Brilliant!" she exclaimed happily, examining the skirt with pleasure and slipping it on.

"How long do we have till breakfast?" I asked, searching around for my clock.

Mariana searched around for her watch.

"Oh, stupid bloody thing," she muttered, grabbing her wand, "_Accio Watch! _We've got about 45 minutes."

I smiled and suggested we go to the Owlery, since it had been quite a while since we had written our families. After pulling on our thick, warm, black cloaks and draping our gold and red Gryffindor scarf around our necks, we set off to the Owlery. The castle had grown colder in the past month and the grounds were icy and snowy, looking like a fairytale wonderland. We walked along the long bridge to the other side of the grounds.

"So, are you ready for dueling club today?" Mariana asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

I laughed. She kept hinting it all yesterday and this morning. I wondered what she was getting at.

"Yeah," I said slowly, "Why shouldn't I be?"

Mariana looked all around innocently, and I couldn't help but noticed she was smirking down at the parchment in her hand.

"No reason," she said sweetly.

I rolled my eyes and we walked past the entrance to the Quidditch pitch and up the staircase to the Owlery. My mind wandered to this afternoon. What would happen when Scorpius and I were paired? True, we weren't paired yet. But we had a way of being grouped together. Perhaps it was fate. Or perhaps the teachers thought we needed to be together more to work out our "squabbling" problem. Ha. How dimwitted intelligent people can be sometimes. I don't particularly want to be with Scorpius all the time, but, well, I don't particularly mind being with him either. But you didn't hear that from me. I had that feeling again. I had a metal taste in my mouth. I felt like someone attached a 50 lb. weight to my heart with fishing string. But I couldn't dwell on it. I _couldn't _fall in love with Scorpius. I had to control myself. I wouldn't let myself. I finally woke up from my daze and realized I had already sent my letter to Mum and Dad without knowing it. I hoped I hadn't drew "I love Scorpius" all over the page. Mariana and I walked back to the castle, the cold air biting our cheeks cheerfully. We burst into the Great Hall, relieved by the crackling fire. I noticed that the four House tables had no benches surrounding them anymore, but had stairs leading up to them and padding over the tops. I noticed Professor McGonagall talking to Professor Longbottom cheerfully, as if the Dueling Club was a great treat. I noticed Professor Longbottom wave at me, I waved cheerfully back and walked over.

"Good morning, Professor's!" I said cheerfully; I was wide awake from the cold air outside.

"Good morning, Miss Weasley," Professor McGonagall said with a rare smile, "Doing well, my dear?"

"Oh yes, I'm so happy to be back."

Professor McGonagall, Professor Longbottom, and I chatted for some time until there was a giant "BOOM!" in the hallway, and Professor McGonagall went out to check what it was. A few seconds of horrible silence past until she shrieked, "MR. CREEVEY! THAT IS EXACTLY WHY WE DO NOT CAST THE INCENDIO CHARM ON EXPLODING SNAPS! THEY EXPLODE JUST FINE BY THEMSELVES, AS YOU SHOULD WELL KNOW!"

I snorted with laughter. Then an idea suddenly hit me.

"Professor Longbottom?" I said slowly, since he probably would say no.

"Yes, Rosie?"

"Well, you see Professor, I've heard my parents and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny talk about the Second Wizard War a lot, but I really want to know a lot more. Do… do you think you could tell me more about it sometime?"

Professor Longbottom was quiet for several seconds. He looked as though he was thinking deeply and then he said, "Yes, Rosie, I think you're old enough. However, I'll send an owl to your parents first, just to clear it. You probably should line up with the other second year Gryffindor's. It looks as if the headmistress is ready to get started, and this isn't a morning you would want to ruffle her feathers, I believe."

Realizing he was right, I quickly walked over in line behind Mariana and Al, who were arguing over Quidditch teams.

"Please, the Tornados are a bunch of bloody cheaters!" Al said furiously, "Their Seeker, Reagan Lording, was the daughter of Damon Lording, who was Seeker for them back in 1967-1973! She only got in because of connections!"

"Rubbish! Lording is a great Seeker by herself, connections or not," Mariana shrieked angrily, waving her fist in Al's face, "You're a Cannons fan, right? What about Englewood, their keeper? His uncle was the Centre Chaser for the Westgate Winged back in 1982! Talk about connections; he's best mates with the Winger's manager!"

"Oh please," Al snorted, "Jayden Englewood has no relation to Harding Englewood!"

"Oh yes he does!" Mariana roared loud enough for the entire hall to hear, "His dad was Harding's brother!"

They carried on with their daily arguing over Quidditch teams until Professor McGonagall cleared her throat; her lips were very thin, which meant she wasn't happy. A hush fell over the hall instantly.

"Now, as you should know, the Dueling Club is first most lessons," she said seriously, "Any riff raff and the club will shut down. These meetings are supposed to give you hands on experience, but if you misbehave, you will be given a more severe punishment than detention. Duel wisely."

She then walked off, leaving Professor Longbottom, Professor Slughorn, and Professor Binns in charge. I didn't really see how Professor Binns could be much help, being a ghost, but who am I to question the headmistress? Professor Binns held up the list.

"When I call your name, go up to the table nearest to your left," he said in his dry, reedy voice, "Corner, Mariana and Cauldwell, Gregory."

Mariana smirked and twirled her wand.

"This will be easy," she whispered before walking on the far left table with a rightfully frightened looking Gregory.

"Potter, Albus and Goyle, Vincent!"

Al smiled, obviously relived, and good-naturally shook hands with Vincent, who grinned back cheerfully.

"Thomas, Jack and Greengrass, Nyree!"

Jack and Nyree glared at each other like only arch nemeses could. Just when I thought I was off the hook…

"Weasley, Rose and Malfoy, Scorpius," Professor Binns wheezed out.

Half of my heart sank; the other half rejoiced. The vivid brown eyes met the sparkling grey, and that's when I knew – this duel was going to be very interesting.

"Now," Professor Longbottom said loudly, "bow politely to your partner, and on my red sparks, you may duel. But remember – we are aiming to duel fiercely, but cause no harm, understood?"

The duelers simultaneously nodded and bowed to their partners. Wands at the ready, we all faced our opponents.

"One…" Professor Longbottom counted.

"Scared, Weasley?" Malfoy muttered under his breath.

"Two…"

"You wish," I breathed back.

"Three!"

Red sparks emerged from the tip of Professor Longbottom's wand, and spells flew everywhere.

"_Petrificus Totalus!" _Scorpius shouted, but I dodged the curse.

"_Waddiwasi!_" I cried, shooting a piece of gum I noticed on the floor up Scorpius's nose.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_" Scorpius roared in anger, making the gum pop out of his nose, "_Levicorpus!" _

I felt myself turning upside down and said a silent prayer of thanks that I knew the counter-jinx.

"_Liberacorpus!_" I muttered, pointing my wand and myself, and found myself on my feet again, "_Obscuro!" _

A black blindfold wove itself over Scorpius's eyes, and he quickly spat out the countercharm and turned his wand to me.

"_Tectumtoria!" _

A shield assembled himself in front of him.

"_Deprimo!" _I bellowed, blasting a hole through the shield and quickly moved it aside.

"_Densaugeo!_"

The teeth-enlarging curse missed me by inches.

"_Evanesco!_" I growled, making his wand disappear. He dropped it confused.

"_Accio Wand!" _he shouted, the invisible wand finding its way into his hands, "_Appearo!" _

He raised his wand to cast another hex, but I responded quickly.

"_Finite Incantatem!" _I yelled, realizing that I had this duel in the bag, "_Stupefy!" _

The curse hit Scorpius right in the middle of his nose, and he fell over frozen. The Great Hall roared in applause and I realize everyone had been watching. Our duel lasted the longest. Professor Slughorn bustled over quickly to Scorpius, his big belly arriving there before himself.

"_Rennervate!_" he coughed out, and Scorpius stirred back to life, "Okay, son?"

Scorpius pulled himself up, looking dazed.

"Yeah," he said distantly, and rubbed his nose, "I think my nose is broken."

I walked over and tilted his chin down towards mine, ignoring the butterflies that suddenly consumed my stomach.

"Stand still," I said gently, and he obeyed without blinking as I raised my wand, "_Episky!"_

I heard a loud crack, and Scorpius roared in pain. Once his eyes straightened out, he looked down at me with a slight grin, and whispered only loud enough for me to hear.

"Not bad Weasley," he muttered, "Not bad at all."

We shook hands and I thought I heard red sparks emerging from a nearby wand, but after looking around, decided it must have been a trick in my head. I looked over and saw a group of teachers and students crowded around the far left dueling table, and Mariana sitting on the edge, swinging her leg, and filing her nails with her wand.

"What happened?" I asked incredulously, looking behind her.

I had to laugh. Gregory Cauldwell had boils all over his body and had a look of terror on his face. Worst of all, he was frozen into a block of stone.

"Blimey, Mariana," I barked out with laughter, "What did you do to the poor boy?"

"He told me not to go easy on him just because he wasn't a great dueler," she shrugged, as though it was completely normal, "So, I didn't."

The teachers fussed over poor Gregory until he was revived and boil free, though still looked horror frozen.

"Why don't you go up to the hospital wing?" Professor Longbottom said calmly, "Give this note to Madam Pomfrey. It's told her to give you a heavy sleeping potion and Draught of Peace when you wake up."

Gregory nodded and waddled out of the Great Hall with a fearful look, jumping at every breath and squeak of a mouse.

Al, Mariana, and I walked out of the Great Hall laughing and I felt a finger tap me on the shoulder and pull me slightly aside.

"You know, I could have beaten you, but I didn't really try," the voice murmured in my ear.

I turned around to see Scorpius, who was grinning broadly at me. I smiled and said for the second time today, "You wish."

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**What did you think? Sorry, guys, I know its predictable, but I had to let Rose win the duel. I just had to. Plus, did you notice anything when Professor Longbottom (aka Neville) was counting down before Rose was about to duel with Scorpius? Hmm. Go look at again. Are you getting deja vu? **


	7. Why Is It Always Me?

**One word, my dear friend, can describe my excitement for this chapter: QUIDDITCH! Oh, guys, I cannot wait to get into the story more. It's starting to unfold and I'm just over the moons and the stars about it. I can't wait to really get into the plot. Plus, I know I've updating what seems like a thousand times today, but I'm really trying to catch up with where I am right now, since I've already written a ton. Alright, let us begin!**

**Disclaimer: I have never met Daniel Radcliffe, so therefore I physically cannot be JK Rowling, which means I don't own Harry Potter. **

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The usual winter chill had turned into a pleasant breeze over the beautiful Hogwarts grounds. When the students woke up, instead of seeing pure white snow glittering on the ground, they saw the sun peeking through the clouds in the blue sky and glistening dew covering the grass. Wildflowers were popping up through cracks in the courtyard and the Gryffindor Quidditch team was out flying nearly every afternoon. One Wednesday afternoon, the Gryffindor team was sitting in the middle of the pitch, discussing tactic ideas.

"Now," Aiden said briskly, bursting with enthusiasm, "I had a great idea for a Chaser run last night. Now, this is how it goes. Supposing Mariana has the Quaffle, she'll fake it to Rose and throws it Al, Al will act as if he's aiming for the third right hoop, but Rose intervenes and will throw it swiftly in the third left hoop before Slytherin knows it's coming!"

"Brilliant," James said, giving Aiden a swift pat on the back, "It's genius. Slytherin will be dumfounded. What should be the code name?"

Aiden shrugged and turned to Mariana, who was curling her eyelashes with her wand.

"Any suggestions?"

"I don't know," Mariana said with a shrug, "'Hippogriff'? And we could shout it real loudly to Slytherin will start looking around in the sky for a Hippogriff to distract them."

The team burst out laughing. Mariana seemed to make everyone laugh without trying; she was naturally popular.

"Mari, you have a ladybug in your hair," I pointed out to her.

She shook her long mane, looking remarkably like a lion (perfect for a whole hearted Gryffindor as herself); her long, shiny brown hair was swishing madly behind her. The whole team laughed as she looked up, her hair draped over her eyes. James leaned over, flicked the ladybug off, and smoothed her hair over to its proper section with the palm of his hand.

"Thanks Potter," she muttered softly, and I suspected she was resisting the urge to transfigure James into a muffin.

"You're welcome, Corner," James said with a grin, "See? It's not all that bad excepting help from people once in a while."

She rolled her eyes and I saw her hand switching towards her wand, but after she caught my disapproving look, she began twirling her hair around her finger.

"Alright, now we have the pitch booked for practice first thing Saturday morning. We're going to go over some more plays and some team building practices for the first half of the morning. Then, we'll go to lunch and have an hour long break. Then, we'll do some strength, reflex, and game practices for the afternoon. Same thing Sunday."

"Glad to see you're not taking this too seriously, Aiden," Mariana said with a huff.

Aiden's dark brown eyebrows rose.

"This is serious business, guys. Quidditch is more than a sport. It's something people bond over. It's showing loyalty to our House and in most cases, our ancestors. It's a stress reliever, something we can do as a break from schoolwork but still feel accomplishment for. It's learning how to work with people, since we'll be working closely with others when we graduate, even in stressful situations. It is not just a game," he stated firmly, his eyes sparkling with crazy enthusiasm, "Its life. Now, put your hands in the middle and do the cheer."

"Aw, Aiden…" James whined, "It's corny."

Aiden shot a fierce look to James, who quieted immediately, and joined the entire team in singing.

"_I am a Gryffindor, sir, and we're sure that you'll agree  
Our house, it is the bravest bunch that you have ever seen  
Our Quidditch team is priceless, each teammate's a shining star  
Our yell, you hear it ringing 'round the turrets of Hogwarts:_

_Who am I sir? A Gryffindor am I.  
A Gryffindor, sir, and will be 'till I die!_

_We're up to snuff, we never bluff, we're game for any fuss  
No other Quidditch teams at school dare meet us in the muss.  
So fill your lungs and sing it out and shout it to the sky,  
We'll fight for dear ol' red and gold, a Gryffindor am I!_

_And when we go to take our place right at the battle's front  
We arm ourselves and as a group our foes we will confront  
No matter what they throw at us we'll bravely stand our ground  
Our enemies admit we are the bravest gang around._

_We may not live forever on this jolly good old sphere  
But while we do we'll live courageously in spite of fear  
And when our Hogwart's days are o'er and night is drawing nigh  
With parting breath we'll sing this song, 'A Gryffindor am I!'_"

Filled with house pride, we walked from the Quidditch pitch to the castle, laughing all the way. While crossing the long bridge back to the other side of the grounds, I started staring out one of the stone window panes.

"What's up?" Mariana asked when I paused.

"Nothing," I said with a shrug, "You go on. I just need some more fresh air, thinking time. You know."

Mariana nodded understandingly and ran after Al screaming, "Al, wait! I haven't hit you in four hours!"

I looked out, staring at the sky. I climbed up on the ledge and let my feet dangle in the open air as I counted all the hearts and teardrops I saw in the sky. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I accept that maybe… maybe Scorpius and I were meant to be? Just like Mum and Dad were meant to be. Just like Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry were meant to be. Just like Victorie and Teddy were meant to be. Would Scorpius and my name be on that list? I shook my head viciously, attempting to shake it off.

"Get a grip, Rosie," I muttered out loud, "Get a-"

At that moment, I had let go of supporting myself on the side and a particularly strong gust of wind pulled me of the edge. The gap from the bridge from the ground below was huge. I knew I would surely die. I would hit the ground, break my spine, and never live again. At that moment, a strong hand grabbed under my arm. I felt myself being pulled onto solid ground and felt those arms pull me in a tight embrace. I felt the heart inside the body of the arms beating wildly. The pressure of the embrace was intense – but it was good. The arms seemed unwilling to let go. I somehow pulled my face up to look up at the face of the person holding me. It was pale and pointed, with perfectly messy blonde hair, and amazing grey eyes. It was Scorpius. I wrapped my arms around him and started to cry. I was so close to death, practically brushing shoulders with it. I continued to sob, shaking profusely as Scorpius held me, breathing deeply. I looked up into his eyes as his stared down into mine. I felt like something got stuck in my throat. I was so in love with him. I felt his hand slowly moving from the back of my head down to my shoulder, down my arm, and into my hand. The other hand slipped around me and pulled me closer. He walked down the bridge with me. He acted so protectively.

"I'm fine, Scorpius," I muttered, half in a daze.

"No," he said firmly, looking down at me with an appalled and hungry look, "I just got you back. I'm not letting you go. Not now."

He led me all the way to the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey looked at Scorpius and me expectantly when we walked in.

"She almost fell off the edge of the bridge to the Quidditch pitch," Scorpius said desperately.

Madam Pomfrey gasped and led me over to the bed and bustled over to get remedies.

"She'll be okay, right?" Scorpius said desperately, looking at me with intense eyes.

"She'll certainly be alright," Madam Pomfrey said, though she looked on edge, "But she needs rest; she's has a serious trauma."

I felt myself shaking and tears flowing.

"You should get going to the Great Hall," Madam Pomfrey said while whipping something up in a cauldron, "She's in good hands."

Scorpius looked over at me anxiously. He started to walk out, looking back at me longingly, then left. Madam Pomfrey put a cool cloth that smelled like lavenders over my heated forehead. I was shaking and jittering until I felt Madam Pomfrey put a goblet to my lips. The lukewarm liquid slid down my throat, soothing all of my anxiety. Before I knew it, I was in a deep sleep, the kind of sleep where you don't think, or dream. You just float in the in-between, wherever that is. I don't know when I finally came around, but sometime in the next several days I felt my head lying against the pillows on my bed. My shoulder felt like it had gotten hit with a bullet and my head was pounding at the slightest movement around me. I wasn't awake enough to comprehend the exact conversation, I just remember being aware that there were voices.

"How did this happen again, Poppy?" I heard the voice of Professor McGonagall asking Madam Pomfrey, who was bustling around the Hospital Wing.

"The Malfoy boy came in supporting her, saying that she was sitting on the ledge of the bridge leading to the other side of the grounds and fell off. He caught her under the arms at the last second. I don't know how he did it. The only logically answer is a magical adrenalin rush. Very fortunate for the girl and her family."

I heard Professor McGonagall grunt gratefully and then heard the doors open.

"Hello, Professor," I heard Mariana say; she was speaking more seriously than I had ever heard her speak.

"Good afternoon Miss Corner, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy," she said gravely; I heard her shoes clacking, indicating she was walking over towards them, "I understand how hard this whole ordeal has been on you all."

"Yeah," Al said dryly, "We haven't been able to visit her much, since finals are coming up, so we hope she's been doing okay."

There was a sad silence.

"Of course," Professor McGonagall said, her voice cracking slightly, "Yes, well I believe you three have Herbology for your final lesson today?" A silence indicated heads nodding, "Very well. I am giving you three permission to stay here with Miss Weasley and I will tell Professor Fimus that I have excused your abstinence. Have a good afternoon," she said as she briskly walked out of the room.

I felt a strong hand place itself over mine. I slowly fluttered my eyes open and let my eyes follow the hand up to the holders face and met the brilliant green eyes of my cousin, Al. I squeezed his hand back.

"What's up, Potter?" I said groggily with a grin.

My voice sounded distant, since it hadn't been used in who-knows how long.

Mariana leaned over and hugged me as tightly as she could without suffocating me, but I did let out a little gag.

"How are you? Does it hurt? Are you doing better? Can I get you anything? Would it make you feel better if I punch Al?"

I snorted with laughter for the first time in a while and Al even grinned good-naturedly.

"One question at a time, Mari. I'm doing better, still in a little pain. And no, it wouldn't make me feel better if you hit Al."

Mariana pouted disappointedly. Al smiled as though it was the best day ever.

"Are you sure I can't get you anything?" she asked desperately, her ocean blue eyes scanning me over.

"Some Fizzing Wizzbees from Honeydukes would be nice," I said with a laugh.

To my amazement, she pulled a pack of the Fizzing Whizbees out of her Gryffindor tote bag and tossed them to me. I caught them in the palm of my left hand and fist pumped in the air happily.

"I had James get them for you yesterday during his Hogsmeade trip. I threatened to set a pack of firecrackers off in Alice Longbottom's dorm room and he was very accommodating."

Al snorted with laughter and Mariana grinned without a hint of embarrassment. My brown eyes searched around the room till they met a pair of grey. I'd seen, dreamed, and thought about those grey eyes so many times, but something looked odd about them today. They weren't sparkling with laughter, mischief, handsomeness (wait… what did I say?), and occasionally hatred. But they weren't sparkling at all. It looked little the shimmer had gone permanently matte, like the shining light bulb that lit them up had burned out. Scorpius felt guilty. I just knew it. It was hard to read between the glazed over eyes, but it was there. We stared in silence for several seconds and I momentarily forgot Al and Mariana were there.

"So, we're gonna go, er, study, right Al?" Mariana said, obviously resisting the urge to laugh.

"Yes, yes," Al nodded furiously, "We will go and, er, study and leave you, er, be. Yes. Yeah. Uh huh. Okay, well, um…"

"See you later!" Mariana shouted, grabbing Al, who was turning red in the face from the inward laughter consuming him, by the hand and drug him out.

It was just Scorpius and me. He stared down at his feet and shuffled his hands nervously. The poor guy looked miserable.

"Thank you," I said in a whisper.

Scorpius jerked his head up. He looked surprised. He rubbed his eyes and then looked back up at me, as if to check it wasn't a dream.

"What?"

"Thank you," I repeated, "For saving me. I'd be dead without you."

He shook his head viciously and I noticed the dark circles on his usual flawless face. His eyes looked to my shoulder, which was in a sling.

"That is not your fault," I said firmly, "A dislocated shoulder is nothing compared to death.

You did what you had to do, Malfoy."

He nodded and seemed to take in my words. He pushed himself up from the edge of the bed and slightly smiled.

"Thank you," he grumbled, and looked back, "Feel better, Weasley."

With that, he walked out of the Hospital Wing.

Nearly four weeks later, Aiden, James, Roxanne, Fred, Al, Mariana, and I were standing at the Quidditch gate.

"This is it guys," Aiden said seriously.

"The big one," Roxanne chimed seriously, but her glittery blue eyes, just like her fathers, saying otherwise.

"The one we've all been waiting for," Fred said just straightly.

Al's green eyes misted over with confusion, Mariana high-five Roxanne, and I raised an eyebrow.

"We've memorized Aiden's speech," Roxanne said explanatorily, "He does the same one every year, so it isn't particularly difficult."

Mariana snorted with laughter and Aiden glared at the team.

"That's exactly the attitude that will make us lose to Slytherin today. We haven't won the cup for Gryffindor since Ted was here. I refuse to make us let down every past and present Gryffindor again," he said with an expression of grief and guilt that made even Fred and Roxanne sober.

"We'll get it this year, Aiden," James said confidently, his eyes alight with the same crazy enthusiasm that was in Aiden's only seconds earlier.

"Yeah," Mariana said, "Besides, I spread a fake rumor around the whole Gryffindor team is wearing basilisk glasses, so anyone who flies near us and makes eye contact with die."

The whole team roared with laughter and it felt like a hundred weight had been released off of our chests. We put our hands in the middle and did the ever-going Gryffindor cheer, because Aiden insisted on doing it, and walked out into the middle of the pitch. Across the field, we saw the backs the Slytherin team, their emerald green Quidditch robes rustling in the wind. The Slytherin's were tough, but weren't as bad as I hear they used to be. From what I've heard, the Battle of Hogwarts sobered them up. Madam Maoris was talking to Professor Census, the Arithmancy teacher, who was referring the match. I scanned the crowd and locked eyes with Professor Longbottom, who gave me a swift wink. I grinned back and mounted my broom. Hovering in between Mariana and Al, I quickly scanned the Slytherin Chasers. I looked at the right Chaser met the dark hazel eyes of Vincent Goyle. He grinned good naturedly and mouthed "Good luck!" I smiled back and mouthed "You too!" I looked over at an intense looking fourth year playing the left Chaser position. I knew as Daxton Atrum who had black, sallow eyes and a pale white face that looked as if it had never properly seen sunlight. I looked over at Mariana, who was playing the left Chaser on our team, and she rolled her eyes.

"He's trying to put on the whole scary dude vibe," Mariana said bracingly, obviously not fearing him in the slightest, "He has no idea who he's up against. I'll make him eat his broomstick."

I burst out laughing, catching the eyes of Slytherin's centre Chaser. He had blonde hair that was perfectly windblown, a pointed heart shaped face, and twinkling grey eyes. My mouth dropped. Scorpius grinned back.

"Wood, Montague, shake hands!" Professor Census shouted, now hovering on the sidelines on his broom.

Aiden and the Slytherin captain, Sanders Montague, shook hands. The two glared at each other and seemed to be trying to break each other's hands. The whistle was blown, the Quaffle thrown in the air, and I zoomed forward and quickly snatched it.

"The first match of the Quidditch season begins with Gryffindor versus Slytherin," Matthew Jordan said to the roaring crowd adorned in red, gold, silver, and green, "And Weasley has the Quaffle. Many of you remember the controversy of the three first years chosen by Captain Aiden Wood last year. Well, didn't those haters eat their broomsticks? Turned out to be spanking good Chasers. Weasley throws the Quaffle to Corner, Corner throws it back… no, no, she strikes that. She faked it and tossed it to Potter, playing right Chaser, Potter aims for the second hoop, Slytherin's Keeper Ectomy swoops down for the save… OH! Al passes it at the last second to Weasley, down at the left hoop and SCORES! TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!"

The gold and red adorned fans cheers loudly as the ones in silver and green pouted and booed. The game played out neck to neck. If Gryffindor scored, so did Slytherin. Like a teeter totter being evened out to perfect proportions. Finally, after two and a half hours, the score was neck and neck at 160 points each.

"And now entering the last portion of the second hour of this ever going game, that may not end before I graduate," Matthew said in the middle of a yawn, "No action yet from Gryffindor's Seeker, James Potter, or Slytherin's Seeker, Vilder Burak, just flying and searching for the… Wait, _was that the Snitch?_"

An excited murmur ran through the crowd as heads scanned the pitch up and down. James eyes were crazy wide scanning the crowd, so were Vilder's. James eyes widened and in a blink of an eye, he swooped down, chasing the Snitch that was invisible to the human eye on the other side of the pitch and in the stands. Burak quickly ducked down and followed, but James, being an expert strategist, swerved to the left as if the Snitch went that direction. Burak naturally followed, but only for James to veer back and knock him off his broomstick. James flew right above the grass and jumped off his broom, pouncing on something on the ground. A second later, he popped up, waving the Snitch around crazily.

"JAMES POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! THE GAMES OVER! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Matthew yelled to the roaring crowd, "Brilliant way for Gryffindor to start of the Quidditch season; with a win!"

I screamed and hugged Mariana in the air and fist pumped with Al. Letting out a fist pump in the air, my sweaty hand slipped off from supporting myself on my broom and fell off my broom.

I heard screams and gasps from the crowd and hit the ground with a thud. The world went black.

- - - - - - - - -

"Is she okay?"

"Al! She just fell 27 feet, you great prat!"

"Slytherin will probably be happy, our Centre Chaser may die."

"FRED!"

"What, just being realistic."

"Is she… dead?"

"No you idiot, her chest is moving."

"Shut up James, stop talking to loud!"

"She's asleep, Corner, no need to freak out."

"MY BEST FRIED JUST FELL 27 FEET, YOU GIT! I WILL FREAK OUT IF I WANT, AND DON'T YOU _DARE_ TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!"

There was an awkward silence, then a string of loud, continuous "SMACK'S!" and James crying out in pain. Feet shuffled, probably attempting to pull Mariana off of James. I quickly opened my eyes and saw Mariana attacking James, smacking and punching every inch of him he could reach. James put his hands up, trying guard his face.

"OW! OW! CORNER! GERROFF!" he cried out in pain.

He fell over on the ground, with Mariana still wrapped around him like snake, throwing her fists anywhere and everywhere. Al finally wrapped both his arms under Mariana's and pulled her off, but she still tried to wriggle out and was kicking in the air.

"ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER, YOU LET GO OFF ME RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME GOD, I WILL TORMENT YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"

"Don't-you," Al grunted out while trying to contain a wild Mariana, "Al-ready do-that, M-Mari?"

I couldn't resist it. I let out a long laugh. Heads whipped around and turned to me.

"ROSIE!" Mariana squawked, and rushed over to my bedside, "Are you okay?"

I let out a groan.

"I've done better, let me tell you."

Al walked over, his brilliant green eyes looking down at me gravely, and leaned to kiss me on the forehead.

"Where's James?" I asked innocently, resisting the urge to laugh.

I knew James was still lying on the ground on the other side of the bed, but had to see his reaction. He put his hand up and dangled his fingers, and letting them flop back down with a grunt. I chortled.

Suddenly the door burst opened and I whipped my head around, which was not the best of ideas. I saw Scorpius walk in, his emerald green Quidditch rustling behind him, looking very angry.

"What," he said exasperatingly, "Was the point in saving you if you were going to almost kill yourself a few weeks later?"

Mariana, James, and Al burst out laughing. I smirked. He smirked back. Scorpius turned around on his heel, and right before walking out, turned around, the grey eyes locking with the brown.

"Why is it always you?"

* * *

**I guess Rose inherited the whole "be in the Hospital Wing every other week" thing from her Uncle Harry :) (Yes, yes, I know they aren't related by blood. Don't shoot me, please!) I sort of feel bad, because this feels like a "filler" chapter to me. The next chapter is incredible. Or the second to next. I don't remember which one. Please review a million, trillion times! I absolutely love it. Thanks guys, you're all amazing.**


	8. The Girl With The Wand In Her Ear

**Finally, finally, finally! I am so excited to post this chapter because another really important character comes into play. The chapters, as you can see, are slowly getting longer and better written. This chapter is dedicated to my May and Ray. Girls, we have been writing stories together since last summer and only God knows how we got our insane ideas. We laugh on the phone for hours at a time and you guys were the first to hear my stories. I love you :) Thank goodness we are beyond the days when all we could talk about with Meringue, Crust, and Pudding. (Don't ask.) Alright, here we go!**

**Disclaimer: Oh, JK Rowling, once again you prove you are the more superior writer, since you own Harry Potter, not I.**

* * *

The Quidditch game was the talk of the school for the next couple of weeks. When I walked from the class to class, I heard nothing but murmuring's of my latest injury. I had a fractured skull, but nothing that Madam Pomfrey couldn't fix with a wip of her wand and a stir of her cauldron. After one DADA lesson, I looked at my recent essay grade and growled.

"What did you get?" Al asked nervous.

I slammed my fist on the table.

"E," I pursed my lips.

Bidding Al a quick goodbye, I grabbed my Hogwarts tote and shoved my Underage Defense Against the Dark Arts by Jasper Wrenchy into the bag, and headed off to the second floor to go to Professor Armand's office. Walking to the door, I noticed that voices were coming from the inside and two or three students were already lined outside the door. I stood at the back.

"Rosie!"

I looked to the front of the line and saw my long, swishy haired, ocean blue eyed friend.

"Hey Mari, talking to Professor Armand?"

She nodded.

"I need to get the homework assignment for today, because I was talking with Professor McGonagall during DADA."

"Yeah," I said interestedly, "What was that about?"

"Oh, she just fussed really. She said ridiculously things like I have 'anger problems' and 'over-aggressiveness asserted with abuse', silly things like that."

I snorted with laughter. Professor McGonagall hit the bullseye, but telling Mariana that was the last thing on earth I really wanted to do at this particular moment.

"Oh, Merlin," Mari said, her legs quivering together, "I got to pee! Come with me!"

"Fine," I chuckled at my best friend's unblushing outburst.

"YOU!" Mariana barked at a timid-looking Hufflepuff first year, "Save our spots."

Not waiting for answer from the boy, she flounced off searching for the nearest bathroom.

"There's one," I shouted, pointing to a door in the dark corridor, "Oh wait, it's out of order. Never mind."

Mariana snorted.

"Who cares, I'm in desperate need a pee-age! _Alohomora!_"

With that, she pushed open the door and we stepped into the dimly lit bathroom. It was probably the most depressing lu I had ever seeing. The floors were nothing more than grained marble now and looked as if they had _blood!_ stained on the floor. The mirrors were cracked and broken and it looked as if it hadn't been used in years. Mariana ran into a stall right in front of a slashed looking sink. Several seconds later, she yelped at the top of her lungs.

"Are you okay?" I yelled, pretty freaked out at this point.

The door was slammed open and Mariana was looking in disgust as at a young witch. Though, she wasn't alive; she was a ghost.

"Who are _you_?!" Mariana yelled, still on edge.

"Who am I?" the glum looking witch cried, vapor tears bursting from her eyes, "Of course you wouldn't know me! No one bothered to know me, even when I was alive! Ugly, fat, stupid Moaning Myrtle!"

"I never called you ugly or fat!" Mariana spat out, her cheeks turning red from the fieriness within, "But it is a little spooky to be using the bathroom happily in the lu and then you notice a person right in front of you!"

Moaning Myrtle raises her eyebrows above her glasses and didn't seem to mind that Mariana had snapped at her one bit.

"You called me a person," she said, with the air of one who was deeply surprised.

"Yeah," Mariana said tensely, her cheeks still tickling with the faintest shade of pink, "Why wouldn't I?"

Moaning Myrtle seemed extremely taken back at this point.

"No reason," she said confusedly, as if someone has just asked her to explain every bit of information to pass your N.E.W.T's, "It's just, I haven't been called a person in a long while. I was called that 'thing', 'the dead girl', 'the moaning ghost'," she said, bursting into tears and sitting down on the toilet.

As she sobbed, Mariana just watched. When her sobs turned into hiccups, Mariana finally spoke.

"Well, you can't have met many decent wizards or witches then," she said.

Moaning Myrtle stared at Mariana as if she was the strangest thing alive.

"Um," I said thickly, glancing at my watch, "We should probably head of to Ancient Runes, Mari."

Moaning Myrtle stared at us as we walked out. Right as the door was about to close, we heard a voice called, "Wait!" We walked back in and saw her looking at us again with a bemused expression.

"Would… would you two come visit me again sometime? I haven't got many visitors," she said glumly, looking at Mariana and me hopefully.

I glanced at Mariana, who was studying Myrtle thoroughly.

"Sure," she said finally, "That'd be nice. Don't mind if we do homework, do you?"

"Oh no," Myrtle said, smiling cheerfully, which looked odd, as if she had never properly smiled, "I haven't actually spent time with someone one on one in 75 years!"

With that, we told Myrtle we'd stop by on Saturday and she waved us out of her bathroom.

"Strange," I said with a chuckle to Mariana.

"Strange indeed," she responded with a smile.

That was the first time I made a ghost as a friend.

That night, when Mariana and I walked into the common room, James and Al were hovering over a letter, staring at it in awe.

"What's up?" Mariana asked as she plopped on the couch, snatching the parchment, "Aw, it's Mummy and Daddy. What they writing about?"

"Luna Lovegood."

My head popped up from my book of _500 Ways to Be Ready for Yearly Exams_ and stared at James and Al.

"What did you say?" I asked slowly, my brown eyes wide with surprising.

"Luna Lovegood. Remember her?"

I nodded.

"Well, her daughter is coming to Hogwarts apparently," Al said, as if this was a frightening thing.

"Why is she joining in the middle of our second year?" Mariana asked, obviously interested.

"She caught a nasty case of Spattergroit," James said, "She's been in St. Mungo's for the past two years, but her Healer proclaimed her completely healed last month. She's gonna have a private sorting with McGonagall."

I realized at this point that most of the common room was listening in, and talking amongst themselves about the poor girl with Spattergroit.

"So, why are your Mum and Dad owling you about her?" Mariana asked suspiciously, as if this girl was going to turn out to be a dragon dealer.

"Well," Al said gently, as if trying to put the words nicely, "I've only met them once, but the Lovegood's are a bit… _different_."

"How so?" Mariana challenged.

"Well," Al said, glancing around, as if the girl was standing right there, "They believe in all these magical creatures that there's no proof exist. Plus, they are a bit air heady. But, I've only met one of the Lovegood's; Luna, and I only met her once. But, if her daughter is anything like her, she'll most likely be in Ravenclaw."

"Dad said no matter what, we have to befriend her daughter," James said with a sigh, "He wrote, 'If Lila is anything like her mother, and then she'll most likely be teased. Luna was teased all throughout her years at Hogwarts, but turned out to be a spectacularly gifted witch, and an even more loyal friend.' Yeah, great for her Dad."

"Wait," I asked, confused, "What about her father? His name was Rolf Scamander, right?"

"They split up," Al said sadly, "Luna told Mum that Mr. Scamander was more interested in his work that his family, and didn't care about them anymore, so Luna left. Her sons, Lorcan and Lysander, apparently wanted to stay with their dad. Lila wanted to stay with her, so she did."

"Aw," Mariana said, flipping her silky hair over her back, with a sad look in her eyes, "That's so depressing. Poor Lila."

"She'll probably be a nut job," James muttered.

At that moment, Mariana grabbed one of the Daily Prophet's still bundled up on the table in front of the fireplace, and smacked James with it.

"I don't care if she's weird!" Mariana yelled, the fire from the fireplace reflecting in her dark blue eyes, "That girl has been through a lot. We're going to be her friend."

James growled aggressively. Standing up, he grabbed his parchment and stormed up his dormitory stairs.

"Baby," Mariana muttered.

The three of us started on our homework for History of Magic: reading an ever going chapter A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot.

"Has anyone else noticed," Mariana said, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn, "That basically all when do is read about goblin revolutions, goblin wars, and goblins fighting for freedom?"

"But Mari, that's because goblins has played a big part in wizard history," I said earnestly, refusing to let her diminish my love for the subject, "It's important."

"I'm just yanking your wand, Rosie, relax. But, I'm just saying, it wouldn't kill us to hear a little bit more about people who are actual human."

Al snorted out with laughter and Mariana smirked in a smart-aleck manner.

"Mariana!" I fussed, obviously shocked, "That is the exact reason that house elves, goblins, and centaurs say that humans think they are superior to others!"

Al put his hand on my shoulder.

"Rosie, breathe; your ears are blood red."

After calming down a bit, I ran to my dorm and grabbed my wooden WWN (Wizard's Wireless Network) box and brought it downstairs. I tapped it with my wand and soft piano music poured out, as though a grand piano was sitting right next to me, playing itself.

"Aw, Rosie," Mariana whined, "Can we listen to something from this century, please?"

"No."

I closed my eyes and let the symphony of keys sooth my headache from all the homework. My mum, like usual, was right: music is the best medicine, next to Madam Pomfrey, of course! I looked around for my _Gryffindor's That Rose to Power_, but couldn't find it. I thought back to the last place I remember having it.

"Studying in the library," I sighed out loud.

"What?" asked Mariana.

"Nothing, nothing, gotta borrow something from James. Be right back."

I flounced upstairs and banged on James dormitory door.

"Who is it?" A guy's voices called from inside.

"Is James in there?" I called out.

"Hey James," the boys teased, "There's some girl outside for you. You didn't tell us you had a date."

They were all laughing at something and I heard a pillow fight break out. Tired of waiting I pulled out my wand.

"_Alohomora!" _

I kicked on the door and it opened. A dormitory full of fourth year boys paused their fight. I burst out laughing. James was in a towel.

"Blimey, Rosie!"

I grabbed James by the elbow and pulled him into one of the corners. One of the boys "Oooh-ed" in response; James whipped out his wand and hexed him.

"I need to borrow the invisibility cloak," I whispered.

His golden hazel eyes widened and he shook his wet, jet black hair in response.

"No way, Rosie."

"James, please," I said desperately, "I need it!"

He raised his eyebrows.

"For what?" he challenged.

I whipped out my wand and pointed it straight between his eyes.

"James," I said softly but firmly, "I. Need. That. Cloak."

James's eyes flickered from my eyes, to the wand, to his trunk, and back. He sighed and opened the trunk, quickly passing me the cloak, which I'm promptly shoved into my tote.

"Thanks," I murmured, and walked out of the room.

I heard laughs of the fourth years as I walked down the dormitory stair case, probably questions James on who I was, but I didn't care. I pulled the cloaks out of my bag and draped it over myself, making sure it covered my feet, and walked through the doorway leading to the common room. Slipping out of the portrait hole, ignoring the "Who's there?" from the Fat Lady, I tiptoed down the rotating staircases, looking for a sign of Peeves anywhere. I walked to the portrait of the chubby cherub and whispered, "Happy headlines." The cherub peaked open an eye.

"Invisibility cloak, eh? Nothing starts more gossip than trouble," the cherub said proudly, swinging open and revealing a thin passageway, "Go on through."

Quickly running through passageway, I stepped out into the library. It was dark and drafty, and every step I took made a loud creak that I was sure rung throughout the entire castle. Darting through the aisles of books, I found my way to a table sitting under an arched triangular window where a several large books were scattered across the table. Spotting my book on the top, I grabbed it and started to walk out. But, on the facing window, the moonlight spilled all over the table in front of it, catching the light of a boy. The boy was asleep; his head lying on the table surrounding by books. I looked closely and noticed it was Scorpius. Knowing he'd be dead if he got caught, half of me wanted to leave him, half of me wanted to wake him up, sneak him under my cloak, and escort him safely to the Slytherin common. Sighing to myself and wondering why I have to be such a good person, I slip my hand out of the cloak and tapped him on the shoulder. Scorpius rose with a stir and turned around the library. Looking down at his watch, he let lose several curse words and grabbed his book. Glancing around the room one more time, he set off down the nearest corridor. I tried to resist, but I couldn't; I burst out laughing, forgetting I was invisible. I heard his footsteps stop for a second, listen, and conclude nothing was there and continue. I tip-toed over to the portrait shortcut, whispered the password, and set off back towards the Gryffindor common room. Unfortunately, I slipped on one of the steps and it sets of a loud clack, and was heard by no other but… Peeves.

"Who's there?" the poltergeist said with glee at the idea of someone getting in trouble, "Invisible, eh? Are you a ghostie or a wee student? Should call Filch if something's sneaking around, I should…"

I thought quickly and franticly. Getting caught by Filch was the last thing that I wanted. Remembering a story I heard Mum tell me once, I spoke in a low, raspy voice.

"Have I not told you this once before, Peeves? The Bloody Barron has his own reasons for being invisible."

Peeves small, beady eyes widened with fear.

"S-s-sooo sorry, your Bloodiness. Forgive Peevsey and his old jokes. I will stay far away from here, tonight!"

With that, the ghost zoomed away as fast as he could, gliding through half the staircase along the way. Running up the stairs to the portrait of the Fat Lady, I nearly gagged on my dry throat.

"Ariana Dumbledore," I puffed out.

"I say, who is there?!" The Fat Lady demanded.

"J-James Potter," I sighed out.

The Fat Lady looked suspicious, but opened the portrait gate unwilling. The common room was deserted. On the way up the stairs to the dormitory, I shed the invisibility cloak. When I walked in, I was bombarded by Mariana.

"Blimey, Rosie!" she screamed, shaking me by the shoulders, "Are you out of your mind? Where have you been?"

"Out for a midnight stroll," I said innocently, pulling off my uniform and slipping into my favorite red and gold sweatpants.

"I thought you had died or something!" Mariana shrieked as I pulled my grey sweatshirt, with a lion imprinted on the front, over my head, "So seriously, what were you doing?"

I told her about sneaking to the library to get my book and about seeing Scorpius. Her eyes widened into to two ocean blue buttons.

"But," she asked confusedly, "How did he not see you?"

I paused. Should I tell her about the invisibility cloak? It was sort of a Potter/Weasley secret. No one else knew about it, and I decided it should stay that way. I shrugged casually.

"Guess I'm just good."

I could tell Mariana didn't buy it, but she didn't question me, and for that, I was thankful. I pulled out the old Deluminator my Dad gave me and pointed it towards the lamp and clicked it. The light from the lamp zoomed inside the Deluminator, which I placed delicately on my bedside table. My brown eyes fluttered open for a moment, but the second I closed them, I fell asleep.

The next morning the castle was cold and damp. I looked out the window and saw the sky, that had been so blue yesterday, was an icy grey. I shivered climbing out of my four-post bed. Pulling out my gold trunk that spelled "R.W." at the top in red letters; I searched for the warmest thing I could find. Deciding on my Saturday Muggle cloths, I pulled an old pair of warm tights over my cold legs, some dark brown khaki pants, my favorite white tee-shirt, and a navy blue sweater. I pulled on my favorite fuzzy socks and a pair of Muggle trainers.

I walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. I had dark circles under my eyes, my twinkly brown eyes were looking dull, and my usually bushy hair looked like it got attacked by a flock of seagulls. I chucked to myself. Pulling a little pouch out my cubby, I pulled out several bottles and tubes. Half of them were potions from Madam Primpernelle's and the other half were products from the WonderWitch line at Uncle George's shop. Pulling out a small round tube, I spread the paste inside over and under my eyes, which instantly vanished. Next, I pulled out a bottle filled with a bubblegum pink potion that was foamy, and splashing around wildly in the bottle. I popped the cork off the top and the potion burst out and sat patiently on my fingertips, bouncing up and down. I scrubbed the potion over my face; or rather it jumped all over skin and wiggled itself in and out of my pores. I dabbed a thick, creamy, skin tone potion in my face. I watched as the potion spread itself over my face and with a "POP!" evened out my skin.

I grabbed my haired brush and attempting to detangle my crazy, bushy hair.

"_Penitus Incendio!" _I muttered, flicking my wand, and turning it into a curling iron.

After touching up my curls and putting on the headband Mariana and I got in Diagon Alley, I cleaned up the mess I made. Putting it all back in my bathroom cubby, I walked back to the dormitory. Mariana was already up and had straight black jeans, a warm sweater that perfectly matched her eyes, and her headband. She had an intense look of concentration on her face as she was putting swipe of mascara on.

"Well, well," I said with a tease in my voice, "Someone's getting all dolled up."

"Back to you, good looking," she said with a wink, "Ready to go breakfast?"

We flounced downstairs, through the common room, through the portrait hole, down the staircase, and into the Great Hall. Scanning the room, we saw James and Al sitting next to Alice and Jerry at the Hufflepuff table, even though they were all in Gryffindor. We walked over and sat by them. That was one of the great things that came from the Battle of Hogwarts. We were no longer required to sit by Houses; we could sit wherever we want, but since most of the students friends were in their House, the usually sit at their House table.

"You look nice," James retorted, looking from myself to Mariana.

"Thanks," I said cheerfully, grabbing a piece of strawberry jam toast and taking a chomp.

Alice drained her goblet of pumpkin juice and turned to James.

"When is the next Hogsmeade day, guys?" she asked interestedly, turning from James to Jerry.

"Valentine's Day," Jerry said in his matter-of-fact way.

Alice's cheeks turned pink, and she stared down at her bacon as if it was suddenly very interesting, avoiding eye contact with anyone, especially James. Jerry winked at James and James smirked back, directing his attention to Alice.

"Alice, wanna go to Hogsmeade with me?" James said coolly, as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

Alice's face blushed as she attempted to stay calm.

"What do you mean, James?" she asked as she refilled her goblet with pumpkin juice, "We always go to Hogsmead together."

"I know," James said obviously, running his hands through his hair, "But I mean like on a date. What do you say?"

Everyone turned to Alice, who had turned bright red.

"Sure," she squeaked back.

James smiled and continued eating his porridge. There was a loud bang and Mariana emerged from back under the table.

"Oops, dropped my goblet," she said with a grin, cleaning up the spill with her wand.

Everyone chatted a little bit about their studies, prank ideas, and of course, Quidditch.

"Oh, Al," Mariana said in a dangerously sweet voice, "Did you hear about the Tornados and Cannon's match? Not exactly their best game, wouldn't you say?"

Al rolled his brilliant green eyes.

"McNaughton just had an off match, and besides, Lording had an upscale advantage on the Snitch."

Mariana stood up, her brown hair swishing wildly behind her.

"What advantage did she have?! Are you out of your mind, Potter?" she shrieked loud enough for the whole hall to hear.

Al stood up, too, his cheeks flushed.

"McNaughton's father died just a month ago! He was obviously emotionally distressed!"

Mariana burst out in a cold, sharp laugh.

"Well, that's too bad for him, but the rest of the world isn't going to excuse him. A real Quidditch player doesn't bring his problems on the Pitch. He focuses on the game."

Al and Mariana squabbled for several minutes like they usually do, until…

"Will you two shut up?" James roared.

Al hung his head and Mariana actually flushed.

"Shouldn't we head to see Myrtle now?" Mariana said with an edge in her voice.

I nodded and started to stand up.

"Myrtle?" James said incredulously, "You're going to see… _Moaning Myrtle?!_"

"Yes, we are," Mariana said, her brown hair swishing furiously and her ocean blue eyes penetrating into James's brown ones, "She's actually quite lovely once you get to know her, Potter."

With that, she started to trot off. With a shrug toward James and a wave towards Al, I followed Mariana.

"Can you believe him?" Mariana stormed as we climbed the rotating staircases, "'_Myrtle?! You're going to see… Moaning Myrtle?!'_ Like it's any of his business who I visit with?"

I walked silently next to a fuming Mariana. I had known better than to question her at moments like this. But something lingered in the back of my head. I noticed the way Mariana and Al were arguing. It reminded me so much of my Mum and Dad. They bickered like crazy, but I knew they loved each other. I gulped. Was it possible my best friend was in love with my other best friend? I tried not to think of the strain this could put on our friendship, all of us. As we were walking through the second floor corridor, we heard voices floating from down the hall.

"What in the world is that?" Mariana asked bewilderedly.

I shrugged.

"I don't know."

We walked a little farther down, and discovered that the voices were coming from the other than Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Pushing open the door, we saw Myrtle floating absently.

"You came," she said with shock, looking from Mariana to myself.

"Of course we came," Mari said briskly, sitting on one of the benches, pulling out her homework.

I looked around the room and noticed that Myrtle was not alone. There was another girl in her. She was very petite and delicate looking, but looked strong in spirit. She had long, dirty blonde hair and misty silver, blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of radish earrings and a butterbeer cap necklace. She also had her wand stuck behind her ears. Mariana looked up and gasped, as though she just noticed her.

"You gave me such a fright! I didn't think anyone else was in here," Mariana said, studying the girl thoroughly, "I like your radish earrings."

"Thank you, but they are actually Dirigible Plums. They are a special little plant my mother grows," the girl said in a dreamy, misty voice, as though she was in was in a trance.

Mariana, Myrtle, and I stared at the girl for several second, but she didn't seem to noticed, for she was humming to herself quietly.

"I don't mean to be rude," Mariana said slowly, "But who are you?"

The girl looked up, her misty blue eyes connecting with Mari's, took her wand out from behind her ear, and began to twirl it abstinent-mindedly while talking.

"Lila Scamander."

* * *

**Oh, Lila! I really wish Lila had her mother's last name, which is how I originally wrote it, but it just seemed all wrong. Seriously, Lila is a character very close to my heart and I can't wait for more of her! I hope you love her, too! Well, what are you waiting for? Go comment a million times like a stalker! Don't worry, I won't be creeped out. I love you're comment so much. Thanks readers! More to come, soon!**


	9. Escape

**Today is a wonderfully day! Why? Well, first, I got to sing for a little shindig this morning, which was so fun. Unfortunately, it was at 7 AM so it wasn't my best, but aw, who cares? Second, it's a pretty good hair day. Not gonna lie. Oh, yeah, and third... MY FAVORITE FANFICTION AUTHOR REVIEWED MY STORY. Wow. Wow. Wow. This is incredible. I'm just overwhelmed, flabbergasted, humbled, pretty much any word of shock would work here. I had no idea anyone would even read my story, let alone review. Sure, I don't have hundreds of reviews like some people (cough... cough... you know who you are) but hey, I'll take what I get and like it. I was up till 4 AM planning the rest of the story in my head. By the way, this chapter is _really _corny. It's actually my least favorite of all my chapters. I don't know why. Plus, I know the scene at the very end of this chapter is really dramatic, but hey, I'd just watched The Notebook. (Dramatic movie much?) Now, excuse my ever going intro and let's get into chapter 9.**

**Disclaimer: It's my brother's birthday Sunday! I tried to buy the rights to Harry Potter so we could share, but unfortunately, it didn't work out. So, with great sorry, I must report that JK Rowling still owns and gets all the credit for Harry Potter.**

* * *

Lila was the talk of the school. But let's face it, Hogwarts student live on gossip, so if it hadn't been Lila, it would be something else. But, I had to say, I admired Lila. People laughed at her clothes, the way she talked, and pretty much everything about her, but it didn't seem to bother her. She walked with her head high, probably checking the ceiling for knargles, and ignored the whispers. It was quite amusing how scared Al was of her, even though he previously did not make a big deal of her presence. What was even more amusing is that James had become quite taken to her, though he was the one who was dreading her arrival. One day at the lunch, Lila exclaimed she missed her mother's Gurdyroot tea and that she wanted more pudding, and quickly flounced off in search of another basin full. James snorted out with laughter that rung through the whole Great Hall.

"She's grown on me, Lila has," James said fondly, "In a completely mental way, but all the same."

The whole table burst out laughing. Lila soon walked back with a several bowls full of pudding.

"Would anyone else like some?" she asked sweetly, passing the pudding around.

"Thanks, Lila," Mariana said with a grin, "I'm not a big pudding fan, but I think I could find another use for it.

"Like what?" Al asked curiously.

Mariana's dark blue eyes connected with Al's brilliant green, and he knew at that second he had said the wrong thing. Mariana thrust the bowl towards Al so hard that the pudding flew out and smacked itself on Al's face. James burst out in applaud. I held a charmed towel out to Al, who accepted it gladly. Patting it on his face, the towel instantly soaked up the pudding.

"Why?" Al asked exasperating, looking at Mariana bewilderedly, "Why?"

Mariana shrugged, grabbed Al's pudding, and began to eat it.

"Hmm," she said uncertainly, "It's not too bad, though it's not too good either."

She stared longingly at the pudding, then at James.

"Don't even think about it, Corner," James said, not even looking up his thumb war with Alice.

I took some time to study Alice, who I'd known most my life, but never really looked at her appearance. I concluded she was quite a beautiful girl. She had beautiful dark, honey blonde hair that hung delicately to the middle of her arm. She had pretty green eyes, though hers were a light green, not like Al's brilliant shade, and long eyelashes. Her skin was like fair porcelain and she had a small, strong looking nose. She had very red lips, naturally, and she was quite petite and slim. I suddenly saw why my cousin was so attracted to her. Besides her gorgeous looks, Alice was funny, charming, mischievous, a bit flirtatious, and perfect for James. Just then, Alice trumped James.

"Ha!" she yelled triumphantly, "Eat that, Potter."

James scowled.

"How embarrassing, I got beat at a thumb war by my own girlfriend."

Alice laughed and then seemed to consider James's words. She stared him with wide eyes.

"G-girlfriend?" she asked hesitantly.

James smiled and ran his hand through his jet black hair.

"Yeah, I thought I'd break the ice gently. Alice, would you like to go out with me?"

Everyone turned to Alice, whose fair face has just flushed over with pink. She smiled, revealing sparkly white teeth, and looked as if her fairy godmother had just told her all her dreams would come true.

"I'd love to, James."

With that, James took her hand and they walked out of the Great Hall together, probably looking for a place with a little more privacy.

Just then, Pigwidgeon flew into the Great Hall and landed on my outstretched arm with an exhausted hoot.

"Hello, Pig," I said, taking the letter in his hand and petting his little head, "You did a good job."

Pig hooted gratefully and he leaned his beak my goblet, gulping a third of my pumpkin juice, and flew off, probably to the Owlery, to take a long, deserved nap. I opened up the letter, which turned out to be from my Mum.

_My dear Rosie,_

_Your father and I miss you quite terribly, but are so happy to hear your having a wonderful time. I take it Mariana is doing well, too; give her my love._

_I wanted to tell you how proud I am of your grades. I can tell you are putting lots of effort into it and you are such a responsible girl. But, don't discard your social life. That was my mistake at Hogwarts and I hope you aren't making the same as me. I want you to have fun and make friends that will last a lifetime. I certainly did, even though my nose was always in a book._

_Regarding your grades, I hope you remember that I do not care if you beat the Malfoy boy or not. I am proud because you are trying your hardest, which is a lot different than James, Ginny tells me. He has to take Remedial Potions to bring his grades up. Harry and Ron got infuriated for some reason and Harry owled McGonagall just to make sure it was "actually Potions". Those strange men. _

_Hugo is so excited to be going next year. He's been talking everyday about how he's going to be Quidditch captain, Prefect, Head Boy, and someday Headmaster. He's quite an ambitious little guy. I tried to tell him that it's good to dream, but to also be realistic. He responded, "Mum! Don't dampen my dreams! Fun killer…" Ronald seemed to find that very funny. Stop laughing, Ron!_

_Professor Longbottom owled us a few weeks ago, saying you did wonderfully in the dueling tournament. He also said that you asked him to tell you about the Second Wizarding War. Well, after talking with your father, who immediately said no, we've come to a conclusion: we are fine with it, but we would like you to wait till the beginning of your third year, mainly because we want you to finish your yearly exams without other distraction. _

_I'm so proud of you honey, and can't wait to see you this summer. By the way, if you want to, you can ask Mariana to spend holiday with us._

_Love you,_

_Mum_

_P.S. There was a little heart drawn on the back of your parchment with an S in it. I'm not going to ask… Thankfully, I read the letter to your father instead of showing him. _

I let out a laugh and sighed with relief. Thank Merlin I hadn't sent anything more embarrassing. My heart welled up several sizes as I re-read my mum's words: She didn't care if I beat Scorpius. I felt as if though I could breathe again, for the first time in two years.

"Ready for Astronomy?" Mariana asked, pulling her tote around her neck.

I groaned.

"I thought we had Charms first this morning," I sighed, annoyed with myself, "Be right back, I'm gonna run up to the common room and get the right book."

"Hurry!"

I ran upstairs to the common room.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked irritably.

"Fortis Viscus," I recited quickly, and she flung the door open.

I raced through the common room, up the flight of stairs to my dormitory and slammed open the door. Grabbing my "Guide to Basic Astronomy by Rabidus Bouts", I raced back down the stairs but stopped when I glanced at the entrance to the boy's dormitory. Standing on the final stairs were James and Alice. They were holding each other's hands and staring at each other. They then began to kissing, very softly and unhurriedly, looking oblivious to the rest of the world. Both of their cheeks were flushed beautifully. I smiled, then remembering I was intruding on a private moment, raced down the stairs and ran at full speed to the Astronomy classroom.

"I'm so sorry, Professor Comis," I puffed out, collapsing into my seat.

"Not at all, Rosie," the kind professor responded, smiling down at me, "We were just about to begin. Now, during the full moon, the entire planetary system is in a state of panic. Everything is off balance and it is an awkward time for all of the solar units. Now, as you can see, I've drawn a diagram of the blackboard…"

My mind wandered back to Alice and James. I remembered they looked as though they were having a silent conversation with their eyes. James had looked down at Alice, his eyes saying, "I love you. Do you know that?" Alice looked up at James, her eyes saying, "I trust you. I trust you completely." It was like words were not needed. Like there was a deeper connection somewhere inside them, and words were inadequate compared to the bond they had. I silently made a prayer that someone would look at me like that someday, telling me he loved me with his eyes.

"Rosie," Mariana whispered, bringing me out of my world of fantasy, "Why do you look like you just watched a sappy chick flick?"

I smiled and nearly burst out laughing in the middle of the lecture. I grabbed a spare piece of parchment. "_I accidently interrupted James and Alice snogging."_

Mariana's blue eyes got wide as she read the note. She grabbed her quill and scribbled back her response.

"_That's so sweet. What do you mean by snogging? Like light, sweet snogging or hardcore, thrashing snogging?"_

I snorted out laughing, causing several other students to look curiously at my direction, but contained myself.

"_It was light, sweet snogging. Very romantic, I must add."_

Mariana rolled her eyes about the line of romance.

"_Please, James is a male. He just likes to snog. There is nothing in it for romance."_

I met her ocean eyes with my bright brown ones, and shook my head.

"_James is different. Though he can be completely obnoxious, he's always been a romantic. Since Uncle Harry is hopeless, James actually planned their 10__th__ anniversary dinner."_

Mariana smiled at the note, her cheeks growing steadily red, and I assumed she was keeping back laughter.

"_Wow. I never would have expected that from James. Guess he thinks romance is not cool enough for his current social status?"_

I smiled and thought to myself, "Bullseye, Mari, bullseye."

"_Yeah, but I'm sure he'd show that side of himself to someone he was comfortable with. There's a lot more to James that meets the eye."_

Mariana read the note slowly.

"_Like what?"_ was her short reply.

"_Well, he teased the dickens out of Al before his first year, so bad that Al almost had a nervous breakdown. But, James was even more nervous that Al his first year. I heard him crying in his room the night before September 1__st__ back when he was about to start. Plus, he really has a sensitive side. When we were flying around on Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's broomsticks once, I got in an accident. He sort of turned into this hero and took me back to the house and got me all bandaged up."_

Mariana read the parchment with a stunned look on her face.

"_Wow. I never would have expected that from James. I mean, he sort of strikes me as the kind of person to yell at you, calling you a horrible flier, say 'Sucks for you', and leave."_

I laughed. He did seem that type, didn't he?

"Alright, then," Professor Comis said briskly, "Now, I'm going to pass out a worksheet based on the diagram on the bored. Complete it, please, and turn it into me at the end of class."

I looked over the diagram and laughed. Easy. I grabbed my quill and began zooming through the questions one by one, occasionally stopping to look up at the chalkboard.

"Blimey, Rosie," Mariana muttered silently, still stuck on her seventh problem, "How are you always the first one to finish?"

I shrugged good-naturedly. When I got the final question, I actually had to stop and think for a second. I looked up at the board for a moment, studied it, and then returned to my paper. Writing down the answer, I put my quill back in my ink dome. At that moment, the words I heard made my blood stop cold.

"Here you go, Professor."

I looked up and saw Scorpius Malfoy, handing his paper forward to Professor Comis.

"Well, well, good job, Mr. Malfoy. First in the class to get done with your paper! Excellent, 10 points to Slytherin."

I gritted my teeth. For the first time since we stepped foot in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scorpius Malfoy had beaten me about something. Forget what I said earlier about not wanting to fight, it was sooo on! I walked up, with my jaw clenched, and handed my paper.

"Good work, Miss Weasley, like always. 5 points for Gryffindor!"

I could tell the professor was disappointed, but his disappointed was nothing compared so mine. I walked back to my desk, refusing to look over at Scorpius. Mariana eyed me hopefully. I sighed and grabbed her parchment and quill. Finish the final questions in about two minutes, I handed her worksheet back.

"Thanks girl," she whispered, walking to Professor Comis to give him her sheet, and sat back down, "I owe you."

"You owe me, like x124," I exhaled.

She laughed and nodded her head in agreement.

"So, guess who my father saw the other day at The Three Broomsticks?"

"Who?" I asked curiously.

"Draco and Astoria Malfoy," she said with a grin.

"M-Malfoy's parents?" I asked, dumbfounded.

Mariana rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Rosie, even someone as inhumanly insensitive as Malfoy has parents."

"Har dee har har," I said with my voice dripping with sarcasm, and ran my hand through my long, dark red hair, "Wow. That's crazy. What'd he say?"

"Said that he and Mum chatted with them for a big," Mariana said, her ocean blue eyes twinkling, "He said he's not a bad bloke, he's apparently changed a lot. The Second Wizarding War must have shook him up and got his brain to finally stand in the right place."

The corridor we were walking through suddenly rung out with our laughter. Ignoring the stares from onlookers, we continued to chuckle, wandering aimlessly around the castle. Suddenly, a loud note rang throughout the floor. Mariana and I stopped. The note rung again, and then was joined with a bunch of other notes, flowing fluently between each other. Someone was playing a piano, and that someone was playing a piano quite well. I crept along the corridor, following the wafting music, to locate the source of its brilliance. Finally, I found the door that the sound was pouring out of. I opened it slowly and gasped. The artist immediately stopped playing and whipped his head around. I met a pair of startled grey eyes. The eyes quickly turned from shocked to angry.

"Weasley!" Scorpius bellowed, looking affronted, "What are you doing?"

I tried to answer, but my mouth just stood there in astonishment.

"That was you?" I asked bewilderedly, as though it was not possible for… for Scorpius _Malfoy_ to create such a beautiful sound.

"Yes, Weasley, that was me," Scorpius muttered, his jaw clenched together, "May I ask why you are stalking me?"

At first I was still in a daze from the beautiful melody's affect, but it washed out of my system completely after comprehending Scorpius's words, and a cold, bitter feeling replaced it.

"Stalking you? Ha!" I spat out, and wondering where the sudden anger was coming from, "Excuse me that I have a properly working sound system, Malfoy! You're the one performing for the whole corridor to hear, whether you realize it or not!"

With that, I stalked out of the chamber and slammed the door shut. I walked briskly and vigorously, making my way to the Gryffindor common room.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Mariana asked concernedly, as I huffed and puffed my way through the castle.

"Stupid Malfoy and his dim-witted arrogance! He actually accused me of stalking him? As if it's my fault that he is thrashing the keys loud enough for the entire grounds to hear! He is a low life, dense, brainless little git, he is!"

Mariana walked next to me silently, and I noted the registering astonishment on her face, but didn't take time to comprehend it at this particular moment.

I kept gaining speed as Mariana followed quickly following in suit. Walking up to the Fat Lady, I muttered the password. The portrait hole opened and we stepped inside the common room. James and Alice were curled up next to each other in the oversized armchair, reading their Divination homework together, Jerry was on the floor writing an essay on a long role of parchment, and Al was sitting cross legged on the long couch, filling out a worksheet for DADA.I plopped down next to Al and laid my head on his lap. He chuckled.

"Not the best afternoon?" he presumed.

"Right on the dot, dear cousin," I quipped back.

He laughed and continued to fill out the sheet, obliging my intrusion of his person space. I glanced down at Jerry, who was looking so out of the worldly confused, staring at his own homework, it was quite saddening. Suddenly, I heard James groan behind me. I turned around and saw him grinned broadly.

"Alice, may I ask you how in the world I am supposed to concentrate of this mumbled rubbish when you are playing footsies with me?"

We all burst out laughing, and Alice's beautiful face flushed.

"Well James, my whole goal wasn't really for you to concentrate on the book," she said with a wink.

"Ahhhh, she chooses tonight to be flirtatious," James said with a pout, "The night we have a buttocks full of homework."

"Tough luck, mate," Jerry said sympathetically, not taking his eyes up from his paper, "But, since that is my sister, maybe not so tough luck."

"You guys are kind of sickening," Mariana said, staring at James and Alice, "I mean what if I was all over Al?"

Then, with a huge, teasing grin, she leaned over and linked one of her hands with Al's and curled up next to him just like Alice was curled up next to James.

"Oh, Al," she said dramatically, fluttering her eyelashes.

James, Alice, Jerry, and I burst out in hysterics and Al blushed furiously, his entire face more red than blood. He tried to pull away, out of embarrassment, but Mari never gives up on joke that easy.

"Oh, Albus, darling," she purred, clinging to him closer, "What did I do?"

Jerry started hyperventilating and Alice seemed to be torn over whether she should be offended or laugh. Finally, when Mari felt she had thoroughly embarrassed him, she un-clung herself from Al. She then continued doodling on a spare bit of parchment nonchalantly, but I read a smirk beyond her beautiful face. James wolf whistled and the entire common room was cackling in response now.

"I think you liked that," I whispered in Mariana's ear, who winked.

"Maybe."

The next morning at breakfast, the group of Gryffindor's charged their way back to the Great Hall.

"I am sooo hungry," James whined, as his stomach let out a loud rumble, "Thanks, Bernie; you just helped prove my point."

"You named your stomach?" Alice asked, looking at James with her eyebrows raised.

"You named your stomach _Bernie_?" Mariana questioned with wide eyes, "I mean, of all names, Bernie? Why!"

I turned to Al chuckling.

"We are so random," I commented as Mariana rebuked James for naming his stomach such a bizarre name.

Al just nodded and continued to look down at his shoes, ignoring the others laughing merrily, and seemed to be revolving in his own little universe, far, far away from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"What wrong?" I asked concernedly, stopping on the staircase to look into Al's confused, brilliant green eyes.

"Nothing, it's just," He paused, looking around, "I'll tell you later," he breathed under his breath and continued walking along.

What was so secretive that Al couldn't tell me of all people? Or I should say, tell me right now. Al had always been reserved, at least compared to James, who was always starting good fun and trouble, but I couldn't think of anything he would be too shy to tell me about.

Deciding that it must be something important that, I told myself I wouldn't question him further. When Al was ready to talk, I knew he'd come to me.

"Okay," I said softly, pushing open one of the large doors to the Great Hall.

"Thanks," he replied gratefully, and sat across from me at the Gryffindor table, his face obviously flooded with relief, "I appreciate you not pushing it."

I reached across the table and squeezed his hand with a smile.

"You're welcome. I love you, Al."

My cousin smiled back, "I love you too, Rosie."

"No one ever tells me they love me," Mariana complained, plopping down in between James and me.

"I loooove you, Mari," I said in overly affectionate voice, poking her on the arm.

Mariana pressed her hands to her cheeks, fluttered her eyelashes for the second time in two days, and pretend to blush.

"Aw shucks, really?"

I reached across the table and grabbed a piece of toast.

"Where's the strawberry jam?" I asked, looking up and down the table clad in red and gold.

Alice broke her gaze with James and scanned the hall up and down, looking as if she was x-raying the entire room.

"Hufflepuff table," she said, pointing to the yellow and black table.

I got up from the chair and made my way over to the Hufflepuff's.

"Can I use the jam?" I asked a girl I recognized as a prefect.

"Sure," she responded, handing me the bottle.

"Thanks," I said with a grin, and headed my way back over to the Gryffindor table.

Not paying attention, I bumped into someone walked over, sending us both on the ground and the jam jar shattering in a trillion little pieces.

"Oh, I'm so," I started to apologize, but then pushed my gingery hair out of my eyes.

"You're 'so' what, Weasley? You are a number of things," said a blonde haired boy, whose icy grey eyes were glaring at me.

I glared for several seconds and then pulled myself up; Scorpius quickly followed in suit.

"You know," I said flippantly, cleaning up the shattered glass and preserves with my wand, "I take back what I was thinking earlier. I am _not_ sorry."

With that, I walked back over to the Gryffindor table tensely, not making eye contact with any of my friends, who knew better than to question me at a moment like this. Picking up a plate of strawberries and blueberries, I dropped a few in my porridge and began to eat quickly. I was tense and feverish. I felt myself getting more riled each second I allowed myself to think about the event that just took place. I had been keeping my anger in for two years. I needed to escape, away from everyone else, and I need to do it now. I finally gulped down the rest of my pumpkin juice and set my goblet on the table with a soft "bang". I grabbed my tote bag and got up. Mariana and Al looked at me questioningly.

"I'm going to go talk to Professor McGonagall," I said, locking eyes with Al particularly.

Mariana nodded continued drawing on her soggy toast and Al's eye suddenly lit up, catching my silent clue. I raised a flaming eyebrow and he nodded, and set off out of the Great Hall. I walked across the hall to the Entrance Courtyard and turned into the hallway with the stone gargoyle.

"Password?"

"Hallows, not Horcruxes," I recited.

The gargoyle began to spin and a spiral staircase emerged. I hopped on one of the steps and waited as it spun me higher, higher, and higher. Finally, it stopped. I walked over to the only door in the diminutive corridor and knocked. The door opened, though I didn't touch the brass handle once, and beckoned me inside. I walked inside the interesting office. Strange, odd magical items filled the room and they didn't seem at all like something Professor McGonagall would have.

"Professor McGonagall?" I called, looking throughout the room, but with no sign of her.

"She'll be down in a minute," said a portrait of a very old wizard.

"Okay, thank you," I went over to sit down, but something compelled me to turn around and study the portrait again.

The wizard was very old, but did not look fragile, in fact, he looked rather strong. He had long silvery grey hair and a very long beard to match it. What was most intriguing was his brilliant blue eyes seemed to pierce you when he looked down at you. The gold name plaque bellow his portrait said _Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. _

"You're Professor Dumbledore?" I asked, staring at the wizard who I had heard about my whole life.

"Indeed I am," he said calmly in reply, looking over his half moon spectacles to peer down at me, "And who might you be?"

"Rose Weasley, Professor."

Professor Dumbledore smiled down at me.

"Ah, so you are Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger's daughter?" he asked knowledgeably.

"Yes, sir."

The professor smiled.

"Oh yes, I could tell the moment I saw you. You look a great deal like your mother, but I see some difference in you as well," he said gently.

These words caught my attention. People told me that I looked like my mum all the time, but rarely anyone else.

"Like who, sir?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I see your mother through your face and eye shape. However, your eyes are darker than your mothers. I see you have Aunt Ginny nose and her build and… oh yes, you have your Uncle Fred and George's smile. But, do you know you I also see in you?"

"Who?" I inquired eagerly.

"Your Uncle Harry," said the professor convincingly, "Though you may be not blood related, you do seem to have inherited his facial expression. It's quite striking how similar you look when you are confused, excited, or even angry, as you seemed to be when you first walked in."

"Wow," I said in wonder, not knowing I could look like so many people at once, "You're good, sir!"

Professor Dumbledore chuckled warmly.

"However," he said suddenly, "You only resemble these people. You are very much your own person, Miss Weasley."

The professor had touched a place inside me that hadn't been contacted with before. I was my own person. I smiled up at him.

"Sir, are you this straightforward with everyone you meet?" I asked.

"Most always," he said with a beam.

Just then, a door opened above and I heard feet walking down the stairs. Soon, Professor McGonagall emerged. She noticed I was facing Professor Dumbledore's portrait.

"Hello, Miss Weasley," she said briskly, sitting down at the desk, "Good morning, Albus."

"Hello, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said cheerfully.

Professor McGonagall beckoned me over and I sat at the chair in front of her desk. She flicked her wand and a teapot and two cups appeared.

"Tea?"

"Oh, yes, please," I answered gratefully and grabbed one of the cups; she flicked her wand a second time and tea filled in the cup, "Thank you."

"So, what is it you needed to see me about?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Well, you see Professor," I began rather slowly, not knowing exactly how I was going to get my point across, "I've been feeling rather stressed out lately, and there is nowhere in the castle that I can really go to be alone, and actually alone. I know that my Uncle Harry's father and his friend used to go to the Shrieking Shack, right?"

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips.

"Yes, Miss Weasley, that is correct. I have a feeling about what you are going to ask, but you may continue."

"Well, I was wondering if we could have permission to be able to visit the shack, when we need some alone time."

"We meaning who?" she asked quickly.

I took a breath, "We meaning Al, James, Roxanne, Fred, Lily and Hugo, when they come next year, and myself. Just the Potter's and Weasley's."

Professor McGonagall paused for a minute, obviously thinking about the situation. Several horrible seconds passed in silence, and when she looked me directly in the eye again, I was almost positive she was going to say no.

"Yes, Miss Weasley," she said with a smile, "I think you have earned that. After all, the Shrieking Shack was built for one of James's best friends. Plus, I do not think it would hurt if you showed a friend or two the place, like Miss Corner. However, I am going to lay some ground rules: every time you go, somebody must know you are there."

"Certainly, Professor."

"Next, I do not want you staying the night there. You are intended to live in the castle, after all."

"Of course."

"Finally, I do not want this being spread around. The shack is to only be used by your family and closest friends, not as a source of gossip. The only students who should know that you are going and how to get in there are to be the people you are entrusting to show the shack, alright?"

"Naturally, Professor," I said joyfully, "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, but remember, Miss Weasley," she peered at me sternly, "This is a privilege I am allowing you, since you are a trust worthy student. Any riff raff or abusing this privilege and you will not be allowed to go and your parents and aunt and uncle will know, understand?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall, I won't let you down," I informed her confidently.

Immediately, I headed my way back to the Gryffindor common room, running up and down a trillion stairs in the process. After grabbing my favorite red and gold blanket (is everything I own Gryffindor colors?!), I ran down the stairs and was about to exit through the portrait hole when Al came in.

"Where you going?" he asked, setting some books down on the table.

"Shrieking Shack. McGonagall gave us permission, just the Potter's and Weasley's. I need some alone time," I said in one breath, and bounded out the door.

With that, I headed down the stairs and made my way throughout the castle, twisting through the maze that was the grounds, until I came to the Whomping Willow. I looked around and saw a twig sitting on the ground.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!" _I shouted, and guiding the twig to the knot on the trunk, which made tree stop moving.

I ran through the passageway at top speed and entered the house. It was drafty and quite cold, but thank god, I was alone. I ran up a flight of stairs and found my way into a dark bedroom, which I was a queen sized bed in. I hopped on the bed and curled up in my blanket, breathing in the slightly chilly air, and wove my fingers together. The thoughts I had been pushing back for nearly two years flooded in my mind and I thought of everything from my grades, whether I'd be a prefect or not, Hugo, my parents, to… _Scorpius_.

I had no intention of having an emotion breakdown, but then again, you don't exactly plan those things, do you? It started as a few tears leaking out of my eyes, to a river pouring down my slightly freckled cheeks, to loud sobs. I couldn't understand it. How could he make me so miserable but I still care for him so much? I let out a scream and slammed my nails into the old pillow, which broke immediately from being so fragile and from the contact of my force. I felt my body vibrating up and down and the cries became harder. I inhaled and exhaled shakily, and closed my eyes, drifting into the desperately needed sleep. When I woke up, I looked around me, realizing where I was. It was late in the afternoon and probably an hour before supper. I wondered why I felt so miserable. Then I remember, and I felt the tears that I didn't think I had left in my dehydrated body pouring out again.

Suddenly, I heard the stairs outside the room creaking and the door opened. I looked up to see Al, who I expected would come eventually to check on me. The tears break open again and I buried my face into the pillow, and I felt the bed squeak as Al sat down next to me. His warm hands made contact with the back of my cloak as he rubbed me in a soft, comforting, brotherly way. I felt his arms lift me up and bring me to him. I wrapped my arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder as he continued to stroke my back softly.

"What's wrong, Rosie?" he asked, breaking apart and looking me directly in my most-likely puffy eyes, looking concerned.

"Everything," I whispered, falling back on to the bed, "I'm the most emotionally unstable witch in the world."

"No you're not," Al said firmly, "Mum is way worse when it's her, er, time of month."

I hiccupped as I tried to laugh. I realized suddenly that I could trust Al, and it was tearing me apart not telling anyone. But, my cousin's brilliant green eyes scanned me over and he seemed to read my mind.

"This is about Malfoy," he said cautiously, like a person approaching a frightened fawn, "Isn't it?"

I shook my head unconvincingly and whipped my eyes with the palm of my hand. Al put his arm around me and helped me out of the bed, walking down towards the stairs.

"Come on," he said soothingly, "You'll feel better when you get some food in you."

Al guided me through the passageway, back through the grounds, and into the Great Hall. I felt shaky, since I hadn't had much food that day, and he helped me into my seat. Al summoned some food over from the other side of the table. He put a goblet of pumpkin juice up to my lips and I sipped. The juice felt smooth, cool, and refreshing gliding down my throat.

"Better?" Al asked with a smile.

I nodded and began to eat some of the chicken he put in front of me. Mariana suddenely plopped down and studied me thoroughly.

"She lives," she quipped, taking a chomp out of an apple on the table, "Where'd you disappear to all this afternoon?"

"Somewhere. I'll tell you later," I said slowly.

Suddenly, Scorpius Malfoy walked in with Vincent. They walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down, filling their plates up with all the delicious foods the Hogwarts house elves had bustled over for several hours. Scorpius looked up and saw me. Al was rubbing my shoulder still and Mariana was talking to me comfortingly. My usually perfect, in Scorpius's opinion, gingery aburn curls hung lank and my eyes were puffy, indicating I had been crying.

"What's up with Weasley?" he asked Vincent, who had previously been obsessing over a potato dish.

"Looks like she's been crying," he answered uncertainly.

"No, really, Sherlock?" Scorpius retorted sarcasticly, remembering the name from Muggle studies, "I wonder what she was so upset about. Any idea? Did she get a E in Transfiguration or something?"

Vincent stared at Rose for several seconds and seemed to be doing a jigsaw puzzle in his mind. Scorpius could have sworn he saw a light of understanding flicker in Vincent's multi-colored eyes (grey, blue, and green) , but he turned back to Scorpius, looking puzzled.

"No idea."

* * *

**Gasp... Vincent knows! Man, he's smart. I always knew I liked him! Okay, I am really not pleased with this chapter, so if you have any comments or constructive criticism, go for it! Thank you sooo much for favoriting and reviewing, it still blows me away. I have had a constant smile on my face for the past couple of days! I love you guys!**


	10. A Perfect Summer Day

**Now we're finally getting into the good part of this. I am pretty much almost caught up with what I have finished written now, which is good. This, just incase you're confused, is the summer before Rose, Mariana, and Al's third year at Hogwarts. (Meaning that it's James, Fred, Roxanne, Alice, and Jerry's fifth year) I'm so excited that I'm finally getting to show you guys some of the work that I'm really proud of. So, this chapter is all about a perfect Wizard's summer day! Enjoy :) **

**Disclaimer: If I was JK Rowling, I would have given thousands of autographs. Since I can still barely spell my name at the top of my test, I would assume that I am not her, so I do not own Harry Potter. **

* * *

My eyes fluttered open early one morning while I was still on holiday. The summer sunbeams were peaking inside through the windows, and the warmth from outside was creeping through the walls of The Burrow, where all the Weasley's and Potter's spent the precious moments that we weren't in school. I heard laughter outside and assumed that Lily and Hugo playing on the swing set, something that Muggle kids love to play on. Grandpa Weasley bought it in something Muggles call "garage sales". I looked outside. When the swing was facing the sky, Lily jumped off, floating far too long in the air and landing much too softly. I smiled as Hugo climbed up on the swing next to hers and promptly followed. It must be great still being young and trouble free, as it appears Lily and Hugo were. I looked beyond them and stared at the field that we Weasley's and Potter's play Quidditch in all summer and I was grateful for our family.

I walked through the small but bright room and opened the dresser drawer, pulling out my favorite sweatpants on and a soft, comfy cream sweater. I twisted my hair up into a knot on the back of my head and ran down the everlasting, crooked flight of stairs and into the kitchen. I plopped next to James, who was writing furiously on a bit of parchment.

"Slow down, Superman," I said with a wink, grabbing some orange juice and pouring a glass, "You might write straight through the poor piece of paper."

James grinned and continued to write like there wasn't any tomorrow. I, being a concerned (okay, mainly nosy) cousin, peeked over his shoulders and saw "_Dear Alice,_" written on the top.

"Oh, Alice, huh?" I said with a grin.

He nodded and I noticed a giant smile curl up on the sides of his lips.

"Alice is… she's just… wow," he said with a smile, "I don't ever want to stop being with her. She's like a sugar quill."

"A sugar quill?" I burst out laughing at my cousin, "You're comparing your girlfriend to a Honeydukes sweet?"

"Well think about it," he said with a roll of his eyes, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "When have you ever eaten just one sugar quill?"

I nodded in agreement and took a swig out of my orange juice. Just then, the floors above creaked and Uncle Harry walked in, yawning, and ruffling his black hair.

"Hey," James said defensively, "You tell me not to mess up my hair."

"But you do it to look cool," he said groggily, "But you just look like a massive prat."

"Thanks Dad," James muttered indignantly, taking a chomp out of a pear he grabbed out of the fruit bowl, "You do wonders on my self esteem."

Just then, Aunt Ginny walked down with a pair of yellow pajama pants, a red tank top, and a white bathroom on. She stretched her arms towards the ceiling as she walked over to grab an apple. She ran her hands through the back of James hair and kissed him on the cheek.

"Morning, sweetums."

"Mum!" James yelled, looking highly revolted, "I am 15, not a newborn. Please go shower Al with kisses."

Aunt Ginny snorted.

"Yeah, dream on, James," she said, linking hands with Uncle Harry.

"Good morning to you too, Gin," Uncle Harry said with a pout, playing batting his eyelashes at Aunt Ginny, as though she had mortally wounded him.

"Oh, hey you," Aunt Ginny turned to Uncle Harry, as though she had never seen him properly before, "Say, you look a lot like this guy I used to date in school."

"Really?" Uncle Harry said with astonishment, "Was he a dashingly handsome, orphaned Quidditch player who saved all of wizard kind when he was 17?"

"Naw," she quipped back, her long, fiery red mane flowing freely as she shook her head, "He was a quiet, thick type who kept to the Dark Side for the most part."

"You dated Goyle?!" Uncle Harry yelped in reply, and the table burst out laughing.

"Hey," I said protectively, waging my finger at my uncle, "Don't you go hating on the Goyle's. Vincent's a good bloke."

Uncle Harry's brilliant green eyes clouded over with mischief, telling everyone in the room his opinion on Vincent's father, without saying a word. Aunt Ginny tapped her fingers on the table and let out a low whistle. Just then, Al bounded in the room with a smile.

"Morning, everyone," he said cheerfully, hugging his mother and father, and went to fix some coffee.

"Stupid morning person," Uncle Harry muttered, "I have no idea where he gets it from."

Grandma Molly then walked in the room, looking astonished everyone was up.

"Hello, dearies, must be an early morning today!" she said pleasantly, "Would anyone like some pancakes and sausage?"

"Oh, that must be where he gets it from," Uncle Harry whispered inaudibly and Aunt Ginny thwacked him on the arm.

"What was that, Harry dear?" Grandma Molly called from the kitchen.

"Oh, just that pancakes sound wonderful," he called back in a brilliantly convincing ebullient voice.

Soon, warm, mouth watering smells were erupting from the kitchen and Aunt Ginny got up to go help her mother, Uncle Harry's eyes following her as she walked out.

Al suggested we go for a morning walk (something that the idiotic crack of dawn lover insisted on doing every morning…) and we walked out into the glorious sunlight. The rays were reflecting off of anything shimmery, making it appear as if a million glittering fireflies were happily teeming through the summer air. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue, the exact same color as Victorie's eyes I noticed, which made the radiant clouds dazzle even more vividly. The colors of the garden seemed to pop out even more, since the rest of the world was brimming with color. The crimson roses appeared darker, the amethyst lilacs stuck out faultlessly, the luminous jade grass blades wavering beneath our bare feet, and the entire world seemed in harmony with each other. I took in the exterior of The Burrow for the first time in my life, though I had been here thousands of time, I studied every entity as though it was brand new. Al seemed to notice I was off in a daze and walked fluidly next to me, remaining silent, and kindly letting me go along with my inspection of the world, which I had come to decide, was absolutely stunning.

I swooped down to the pond and ran my fingertips through the water, letting the warm, damp sensation linger in my skin. I explored the way it felt to dip my toes into the surface of the water and wriggle them curiously. I felt like a child who had woke up after a long nap.

"You're kind of inspiring, you know," Al said softly, bringing me back into reality.

"Huh?" I asked rather bemusedly.

"Just the way you look and touch everything, as though it's for the first. You explore the world as though is a mystery, calling out at you to solve it."

I stared at my cousin. On the outside, Al looked just like his father. But on the inside, Al was very much like Lily, the grandmother he had never known, nor had his father. He saw wisdom and beauty in everything, and had always been the most calm out of the wild and crazy Potter/Weasley clan. I smiled and took my cousins hand, as we explored the earth we had walked on so many times before as though it was pristine.

"Al! Rose!"

We ran out from the forest and saw Aunt Ginny waving us inside. We ran inside, hand in hand, and found the house was exploding with delicious smells. I saw Dad had finally made his entrance back into the reality. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at me.

"ROSIE HERMIONE WEASLEY, WHO ARE YOU HOLDING HANDS WITH?!" he exclaimed furiously, until his eyes had evened out, "Oh, it's Al. For a second, I could have sworn it was... never mind."

"Nice work, moron," Uncle Harry rolled his eyes, "Yeah, that's Al, my son, remember him? You know, you were only there when he was born."

Ron cringed.

"Please, I'm trying to forget the things I saw that day," he said with revulsion, glancing at Aunt Ginny.

"Oh get over it, you stupid git," Aunt Ginny said with a sigh, "It's not like you have never seen a woman giving birth before."

"Well, it's not as if it's a particularly enjoyable sight!" Ron snapped back.

"Well, it's not as if it's a particularly enjoyable feeling," muttered Aunt Ginny.

"Ronald! Ginerva!" called an agitated voice.

"Sorry, Mum!" the two called back in unison, continuing to glare at each other.

Grandma Weasley bustled out carrying several breakfast entrees that made your stomach rumble at the sight and smell of them. She dished out several servings to each plate and passed them around, looking at them expectantly.

"Well, eat!" she said briskly, "Goodness knows you children need to get some food in you, running around outside all summer, and such. Harry, dear, you look especially thin. Is Auror work wearing you out? Here, let me get you some more of those potatoes…"

The entire family indulged in her delicious cooking, deciding not to think about how bad it probably was for us. After we devoured the dishes, I stayed to help clean up. Grabbing several plates, I waddled to the sink and set them down in there gingerly, which magically began cleaning them.

"Oh, thank you, dear," Grandma Weasley said, with a peck to my cheek.

"You're welcome," I said as a thought popped in my head, "Grandma? When did you realize Aunt Ginny liked Uncle Harry?"

"First time she laid eyes on him," she immediately retorted cleverly, "It was the summer before her first year. She ran down the stairs, exclaiming she couldn't find her jumper, locked eyes with Harry, and then ran squealing out of the room. It happened right there."

I looked over at the banister next to the staircase and imagined the scene in my head. I saw a little rocket of fiery red hair running downstairs, bursting out about her missing clothing article. Her brown eyes locked with a pair of brilliant green, and she gasped, zooming straight back upstairs. I laughed. My mind worked an exceptionally lot like a TV. (By the way, I only know what a TV is because Grandpa Weasley bought one and ended up breaking it in the process of trying to set it up.)

Suddenly, a roar of crackling fire sounded and the afterglow of an emerald green blaze filled the room. My mother stepped out of the fireplace, clutching Ministry scrolls, and in her work uniform.

"'Lo, mum!" I said with a smile.

"Hey, sweetheart," my mother sighed out exhaustedly, collapsing into one of the kitchen table chairs, "Horrid day at the office. A group of fourth year girl's in southern London decided to try to Apperate! One of them splinched herself completely in half."

The three Weasley women in the kitchen shuddered.

"I am absolutely done in, I need some sleep. See you tonight."

She walked upstairs and I, feeling sneaky, follow her up. In the hallway, I heard my father's voice.

"Hermione," he said happily, "You're home."

"Hi, Ron," Mum said pleasantly, and I peaked around the corner to see him give her a quick peck on the forehead.

Mum pulled my Dad in for a hug and the two stood there. Dad smiled and looked as if nothing would make him happier than to stand there forever, in the hallway he grew up in, just holding his wife. Still smiling, I ran down the stairs and plopped on the couch, deciding I was in need of a nap. Unfortunately, sleep usually comes accompanied with dreams. And I have to admit, my dreams embarrass me.

I was back at Hogwarts, and it was obviously near the end of term. The sunrays were falling all over the castle and the warm tingle of the end of spring was in the air. I was sitting on the edge of the boat house, feet in the warm water. I felt someone sit down next to me.

"Hey," I said, my long red hair shielding my view from the person next to me, but I already knew who it was.

"Weasley, I'm so sorry," said the voice of the person next to me.

"It's not like it's your fault, Malfoy," I said softly, "I just don't know how James is going to get over this."

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked as he picked up a pebble and tossed it into the lake.

"You know why. It's obvious. They, them, whatever you call it, their friendship, meant more to James than Quidditch even," I said with a long sigh.

Scorpius let out a sad chuckle.

"That's saying something if Potter cared more about them than Quidditch. I thought the guy was going to drown himself in the locker room after we beat Gryffindor in his fifth year."

We sat there in silence. I stared at the mountains surrounding Hogwarts vaguely. They were just as beautiful as ever, but it didn't seem to matter anymore. So many things are filled with beauty, but they get taken away before our liking. I couldn't stand looking at the mountains, for all I know; they'd be gone tomorrow, too. Tears suddenly fogged my vision as I stared down into the lake, and watched them fall, creating a ripple effect in the dark, murky waters.

"It's gonna be okay," Scorpius said strongly, lifting himself up, and smiling down at me, "You'll see."

"Are you sure?" I called back anxiously.

Scorpius turned back around, looking at me honestly. Somehow, just being near him made me feel better.

"Positive."

With that he walked away, leaving me to my thoughts.

Suddenly, I felt something, or I should say, _someone_ pounce on top of me.

"Ah! What the-"

A girl's pair of eager ocean blue eyes were looking at me with enthusiasm. Her long, brunette hair was fanned behind her back.

"Mari?" I gawked.

My best friend giggled and climbed off of me, allowing me to freak out over the fact that she was supposed to be in Denmark.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here? Who took you? How long are you staying?" I puffed out in one breath.

"Down, doggie, take a breath," Mariana grinned, "One question at a time. Well, why else would I be here, you great prat? Not to snog Hugo!" she shuddered, and then continued, "Well, I got here using the Floo Network, ever heard of that? Yeah, let's see, what was the next question? Oh yeah, I Flooed here, we've already been over this. And… I'm staying for the rest of summer!"

I gasped.

"Are you for real?"

"No, I'm lying to you," Mari said with a roll of her eyes, "Of course I am!"

I squealed and rolled over to tackle my best friend. She let out several opposing gags and giggles. Just then, Al and James bounded in the room, sweaty from running around outside.

"Mariana?" Al gasped out.

Mariana chin-uped Al and James and flipped her shiny, long locks over her back. She looked around, noticed Uncle George's wand on the table, grabbed it, and conjured a hackey sack. She tossed it back and forth between her fingers.

"H-how? Where? Wh-why?" James stuttered.

"James, you dropped your jaw on the floor, you might want to pick it up," Mariana said flippantly, tossing the sack to me, "I'm spending the rest of the summer here."

"That's great!" James responded enthusiastically, "You can tell Rosie to start playing Quidditch with us again. She's locked herself up all summer reading textbooks."

"Rosie!" Mariana squawked, looking at me like I had broke a federal law.

"What? Third year is a hard year," I shot back defensively, "I was just preparing."

Mariana set her head in her hands, laughing from her stomach.

"Only you, Rosie," she giggled, wiping away laughter tears with the back of her hand, "Only you."

I glared at the three, who were all laughing now, but smiled to myself. When they were in over their heads in homework, was I gonna help them? Naw. Just then, Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry walked downstairs, yawning, and holding each other's hands. Aunt Ginny took one look at Mariana, and immediately knew who she was.

"Well, you must be Mariana Corner," she said with a smile.

Mari smiled and Aunt Ginny gave her a huge hug while Uncle Harry waved and smiled very warmly.

"You look _just_ like your father," Aunt Ginny said, while studying my best friend, "Your eyes are identical, it's rather spectacular: big, beautiful, dark sea blue eyes…"

Uncle Harry coughed.

"But, I prefer green eyes," she recovered quickly.

"Aw, shucks, Gin," Uncle Harry said with a wink, pretending to blush.

Uncle George then bounded downstairs, having not shown himself all through the day until now, and stared at his sister and brother-in-law.

"Freaks," he said, rolling his twinkly blue eyes, "Mari Carrie Bearie!"

"Mr. Weasley, must you rhyme everything?" Mariana asked exasperated, but after seeing the look on Uncle George's face, "I mean, Uncle George."

"Good girl," Uncle George said with approving smile, "Now what are you all sitting around down here for? Shouldn't you be off causing trouble or something worthwhile like that?"

"Please, George, don't coax them to make any more damage than they already do sufficiently well themselves," Aunt Ginny pleaded.

"I wouldn't dream of it!"

"Oh, George, Dad and I fixed up the old Ford Angelia the other day," Harry said excitedly, and the two men ran off to go find it.

"Shall we go play Quidditch?" James asked.

"Gee, James, what a shocker that you'd be the one to suggest we play Quidditch," Mariana said with a roll of her eyes.

"You three have fun," I said, "I'm going to be reading my Advanced Potion Making textbook."

"We aren't assigned that book till 6th year, Rose," Al said incredulously.

"I know that," I said defensively, "I'm just trying to get ahead."

"Three years ahead?" James smirked.

I ignored their giggles and continued scanning my textbook, occasionally stopping, grabbing my quill, and writing a note in some spare parchment.

"Rosie, please?" Mariana whined it a childish, sullen voice, batting her eyelashes offendedly.

"Oh, fine," I grunt, putting the manuscript on the coffee table, "But, only for a few hours."

"Yeah, guys, seriously," James said with a teasing wink, "She has O.W.L's in only two years! And N.E.W.T's in only four. Stop distracting the woman!"

I grabbed the largest textbook available and hit him on the arm, not feeling sorry in the slightest. Al snorted and Mariana pouted, probably wishing she was the one to inflict pain on someone else. I ran upstairs, changed into my Quidditch outfit (long, black tights, mid-sleeves red shirt, and my Quidditch trainers), and buckled my gloves on while running down the stairs. When I bounded down the last step, James and Al were playing Exploding Snaps and Mariana was pulling back her hair with a rubber band.

"Alright, Rosie has emerged, finally," Mariana jumped up excitedly, "Let's go, prats."

"Yes, ma'am!" Al and James said in unison with a smile and a fake solute.

We walked through the kitchen and opened the door, walking out to the broomstick barn, when a voice called from behind us.

"Kids, are you going to play a few matches?" Grandma Weasley called out.

"Yep!"

"Alright, I'll have warm cookies ready when you get back!"

Mariana smiled.

"I love your Grandma," she laughed out, "I could get used to being a Weasley/Potter."

"Well, to be official, you're going have to marry one of the Weasley or Potter's, but since there are a million of us, there are plenty to choose from! Take your pick," I grinned.

"Oh, gosh, I'm not going to comment," James said nonchalantly.

"Well, no one really wanted you to, anyway," Mariana punned back.

The three of us walked together to the broomstick barn, laughing, teasing, and goofing off all the way. James tripped Al into a pile of dirt, Al pushes James back in the pond, and Mari shoved both of them into the barn for half an hour without letting them out.

"I wish I had my wand," James grumbled from inside the barn.

"No such luck, James Sirius," Mariana sang back.

"Rosie?" Al asked; fear shaking through his voice, "There are a bunch of spiders in here!"

Immediately, I ran to the door and undid the hitch.

"Dude!"

"Al is deathly afraid of spiders," I whispered, "He gets it from Uncle Ron. Unless you wanted him to have a nervous breakdown, I had to unlock the door."

"Fun sucking git," Mariana muttered under her breath.

We walked to the Quidditch pitch and mounted our brooms. The rush of wind rippling through our hair was amazing, and you couldn't even describe the feeling of exuberance zooming through the sky. James veered away from the pitch and headed towards the flying route in the woods, and Mariana followed quickly in suit, as did Al and I. We zoomed through the trees and through fallen logs. We whooshed through an old barn that's roof was broken and burst out to the other side of The Burrow. Gliding over the glittering lake, I smiled and let out a delighted shriek and did a loop-de-loop. Crunching down to straddle my broom, I soared through one of the rings on the three goalposts.

That is how the entire afternoon went. It was undoubtedly the best day ever, zooming throughout the sky like there was no end. I felt like the happiest witch alive.

"Woohoo!" Mariana yelled and smiled at Al, who smiled back.

James fist pumped, his golden hazel eyes sparkled with crazy enthusiasm, and he smiled like he was in heaven. After all, we all know James is the most Quidditch obsessed person alive.

Well, maybe next to Oliver and Aiden Wood…

Mariana and Al touched down, James and I quickly followed. Mari threw her broom on the ground and flopped down lifelessly next to it.

"I think I might die of exhaustion," she croaked out, looking me dramatically in the eyes, "Tell Pete Patterson, the lead singer of the Hunky Warlocks, that I love him."

She then theatrically let her head fall back; her arms rest on her stomach, and stuck out her tongue in a dead fashion.

"No!" I cried out goofily, playing along, "She was so young! Why couldn't it be me?!"

"Yeah, why couldn't it be her?" Mariana quipped back.

"Mari, you're supposed to be dead," I reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," she said, and then flopped lifelessly again.

Al and James, being stupid boys, completely ignored the whole theatrical production being preformed.

"How rude!" Mariana exclaimed, jumping up and brushed dirt off her shoulder, "I died and you didn't even care to give me the time of day."

"The time of day is 3:47, Mari," Al said.

Mariana laughed, and I could've sworn a flush of pink crept on her cheeks, but it was quickly replaced by her usual smirk.

"Why thank you, Potter Numero Uno. Potter Numero Dose, you've got some work to do."

"Oh no!" James cried in fake concern.

The four of us packed our broomsticks back up in the barn and walked back. Mariana was chiding James for his lack of response to her "death" while Al and I discussed Quidditch strategies.

We walked into the kitchen, where as promised, a fresh batch of cookies were set gingerly on the table.

"I love your family!" Mariana squealed and grabbed a cookie.

"It gets old when you're actually _in_ the family," James said in a drawing voice, chewing on a cookie.

"I'll take my chances," Mariana said with a smile, through her chomping.

James and I began to play a quick game of wizard's chess, he actually does have some skills, and Mariana and Al argued about Quidditch… like usual. Everything was right in the world.

"Puddlemere United should definitely take the cup next year," Mariana said firmly, "They've worked so hard for it. Plus, I'd die if the Appleby Arrows won."

"For once," Al said slowly, "I agree with you, Corner."

We sat in the living room for nearly three hours, playing game after game after game. Suddenly, Mariana jumped up.

"I'm thirsty. Do you have any Muggle lemonade mix?"

"Muggle?" James asked incredulously.

"Lemonade?" Al asked, even more incredulously.

"You've never had lemonade?" Mariana shouted in disbelief.

The three of us shook our head. Mariana gasped and ran over to the fireplace. Before any of us could stop her, she grabbed some Floo Powder, yelled an address that we didn't catch, and jumped into the emerald fire. James groaned.

"Mum and Dad are gonna kill us!"

"This isn't our fault!" Al said nervously.

"Oh, you know Mum," James said with a roll of his eyes, "It'll be our fault. She'll say we should have stopped her or something. Jumped into the fire at the last moment."

"Luckily, I don't think my Dad will care," I gloated happily, enjoying the glares from my cousins, "And my Mum is passed out cold!" I dawned on this for a moment before continuing, "I am so lucky! Ha! Sucks for you guys."

"What sucks for them?" Aunt Ginny asked, walking downstairs looking polished and pretty.

She was wearing a casual, forest green, summer dress with a dark blue cardigan, and flats. Her hair, which usually hung wild and mane-like, was smooth and silky. She also was wearing a little touch of makeup, something she normally didn't do, which made her brown eyes pop.

"You look great, Aunt Ginny!" I said with a smile.

"Thanks," she replied with a smile, "But don't avoid the subject."

I blinked my eyelashes innocently and she then, probably deciding she didn't want to know anyway, headed towards the fireplace.

"I have a meeting, so I'll see you guys later tonight," she called to James, Al, and I, "I love you."

"Love you too," we called back.

Suddenly, the fireplace erupted in emerald green, though Aunt Ginny hadn't thrown in the Floo Powder yet.

"Oh," Mariana said awkwardly, nose to nose with my aunt, "Hi, Mrs. Potter!"

Aunt Ginny laughed as she threw her own Floo Powder into the hearth.

"I don't want to know," she said with a smile, "Be back later!"

Mariana waved innocently goodbye and waited until Aunt Ginny had completely disappeared, then pulled out a yellow packet out of her pocket.

"Alright, you hopeless, Muggle ignorant wizards," she said with a smile, "I shall teach you the art that is lemonade making!"

"Art?" Al yelped, "I thought it was a food!"

"It's a Muggle figure of speech," Mariana said exasperatedly, pulling a pitcher out of a random drawer, "And it's a drink, Albus."

"I knew that," he muttered indignantly.

"So, what's going on with the extra bashing on Al?" I teased my best friend, who was beating water and lemonade mix together furiously.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently, her ocean blue eyes fixed in concentration on the jug.

"What is going on with you and Albus Severus Potter?" I asked firmly, penetrating her deeply with my bright brown eyes.

My best mate stared at the ground and continued to stir absentmindedly, ignoring the fact that the lemonade mix was completely blended in.

"Mariana Corner," I said firmly, "Relax. It's just me. I'm not going to run back and tell anyone," I paused and continued more softly, "Please tell me."

She scrounged around for some ice, I then pointed to the bin, and I squeezed her arm gently.

"Please, Mariana," I pleaded.

She still avoided my eyes, pouring the drink in four ice-filled glasses, and whispered so softly, as though she had never said it.

"I like him," she whispered.

A tiny, translucent tear drop plopped from Mariana's eye and into the pitcher, creating a little wave. My heart broke for my best friend, who I could tell was erectly in love with my cousin, but it hurt her because she was too proud to say so. I squeezed her shoulder gently and comfortingly, since I was stuck in the same position she was. If I held my breath, I could've sworn I heard a crack come from inside Mariana, her heart crumpling to ruins inside her.

Al and James, though standing only several inches away from us, were completely oblivious to the emotional encounter taking place in the kitchen of The Burrow. I took the pitcher from Mariana and poured four glasses of lemonade, mouthing, "We'll talk later."

"Mariana, this is awesome!" Al exclaimed after taking a sip of the drink, "I can't believe we've never tried this before."

He then embraced Mariana in a huge hug, making her face light up like a thousand fireflies.

She smiled, her pearly white teeth glowing, and seemed to forget all her troubles just seconds earlier.

"This IS good, Mari!" I smiled after taking a sip, "I like it a lot."

Just then, Mum walked down the stairs yawning, her hair in a lovely disarray.

"Well, good morning, sunshine!" James said with a smirk, "Nice to see you out in the daylight. A slumbering beast awakens!"

Mum thwacked James with the back of her hand and collapsed on the chair in between James and Al.

"Good morning, Aunt Hermione," Al, the ever so sweet one, "Want me to fix you some eggs?"

Mum smiled.

"Oh, Al, that'd be wonderful, thank you. Why did Ginny get to have you for a son? I wouldn't mind if I swapped you with Hugo sometimes."

"You and me both," I muttered.

Mariana looked up and caught my eye, motioning over to Al, who had just finished making eggs for my mum. She raised an eyebrow and I nodded enthusiastically, smiling at her. Nervously tucking her hair behind her ear (yeah, you know something is wrong if bloody Mariana Corner is nervous!) she turned over to Al.

"Hey, Al, you want to go take a walk or something?" she said casually, "I'm sort of getting bored."

"Yeah," Al responded earnestly, pushing his chair back under the table, "James, you in for a walk, mate?"

I saw Mariana's self esteem falter and she bit her lip disappointedly. I quickly starred daggers at James, who's lips were almost forming the word "Yes" and he seem to catch on.

"No, you go ahead. I need to go owl Alice," he said smoothly, obviously an expert at lying.

With that, he got up and ran up the flight of stairs, probably going to do just that. After all, it just makes the lie seem all the more realistic.

"You, Rose?" Al asked politely, tying is shoe lace.

"Nope, I think I'm going to owl Lila. It's been a few days," I said with a smile, and ran up to my room.

Okay, I know that it is probably bad karma to spy on your best friend and cousin, but hey! I'm curious!

"Mariana Potter," I muttered to myself, "Hey, that kind of has a ring to it!"

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity," the mirror said wisely.

I sighed.

"Oh, shove it," I snapped, smiling to myself as Mariana giggled at something Al said, "Stupid talking mirror…"

* * *

**Don't you hate it when you're mirror starts talking to you? I know I do. Ooooh. Mariana and Albus, sitting in a tree, S-N-O-G-G-I-N-G... what?! So, do you love Mariana and Albus or does it not seem to fit to you? Let me know what you think! Please comment and tell me your opinions. I love reading them :)**


	11. With This Ring

**Finally! I am now completely caught up with what I've written so far, which means updates are going to be a lot slower now. I know, I know, I'm sad about it, too. But I'm trying my best. This is one of my favorite chapters, but please excuse it for being so messy near the end. I was desperate to get done with it. I cannot wait to start their third year! It's going to be incredible.**

**Disclaimer: I've had the worst case of writers block for the past few weeks now. I highly doubt JK Rowling would have writers block for a few weeks straight, since she is practically a writing goddess, so therefore I cannot own Harry Potter**

* * *

"We're going to get my robes from Madam Malkin's, right, Mum? And we're getting my wand from Ollivanders? And getting my books from Flourish and Blotts? Right, Mum?" an excited Lily Potter asked her mother as they walked through Diagon Alley, jumping up and down.

"Lily Luna Potter, calm down," Aunt Ginny said in a soft but firm voice, "We are going to get you all the things you need for your first year at Hogwarts, don't worry."

"Good," Lily said stubbornly, "Because I have been looking forward to this day since James went, and I do not want anyone to ruin it for me!"

The Potter and Weasley clan all cringed at Lily's comment. Though she was the youngest of the Potter's, she could kick your arse fair and square in about twelve second flat. She was most definitely not a force to be reckoned with. Hugo trailed behind Dad, bombarding him with questions as well.

"Can we go Uncle George's shop? He said he has a new line out in stores now just…"

"Hugo Ronald Weasley!" Mum snapped frustratedly, pushing a fly away curl behind her ear, "We are not going to let you go to Hogwarts all stocked up on prank items! What would the staff think of us?"

"Aw, Auntie Hermione, lighten up," Lily said bracingly, "They've already lived through Uncle Sirius, Granddad James, Uncle Remus, Uncle Fred, and Uncle George. It's not like Hugo can do something that's never been done before."

"'Mione, breath," Dad said comforting, squeezing the back of Mum's shoulders gently. "Hugo is going to be fine."

Mum walked beside Dad for several seconds, taking deep breaths, while Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry were in a deep discussion over Quidditch.

"I think she'll be a Seeker, just like her old man," Uncle Harry said with a smile and a wink to Lily.

"You just say that because she's small and you were a Seeker, Harry," Aunt Ginny said oppositely, "I think she'll be a Chaser."

"Oh, who's being bias now?" Uncle Harry said teasingly.

Aunt Ginny opened her mouth to make a witty comeback, but Lily intervened.

"Would you both shove it?" Lily asked bluntly, her straight red locks swishing behind her, "I want to be a Beater, so deal with it. Prats…"

"A beater?" Dad asked, surprised, "You are a little bit too tiny to be a Beater…"

"Yeah?" Lily quipped back, her cheeks getting red, "I don't think it'd be wise to mess with me. I happen to have heard certain stories about you that I could blackmail you for. Like..."

"Lily," Uncle Harry warned firmly, and the young girl bit her lip, and glared daggers at her uncle. Behind her mother and father's back, she made a pretend gun (a muggle weapon) with her thumb and middle finger, causing Dad to burst out laughing and Mum looking shocked.

"I love Lily," Mariana said fondly, staring at the eleven year old, "She's like a mini me with red hair, freckles, and brown eyes. But, we're the same at heart."

"That's great, Mari," I said with a laugh, and elbowed my best friend.

"I want to go get Debogoruos powder, for Potions," Mariana randomly spouted, "Anyone want to come with me?"

"I'll come!" Al offered eagerly.

"Mariana, Debogoruos powder isn't listed in our potions supply for this year," I stated slowly.

"I never said it was for school," Mariana grinned mischievously, "Come on, Potter!"

The two set of to the other side of Diagon Alley. I, however, stuck with the rest of the clan, since I promised Lily I would come to see her get her wand.

We stepped in to Ollivanders, and the immediate smell of dust greeted me and I pushed back a sneeze. According to my dad's face, he must have been doing the same thing. Lily looked around, her bright brown eyes alive with interest.

"Hello, Harry," a shaky voice called out from somewhere in the back of the store.

Mr. Ollivander emerged, looking very old and fragile, but his misty, silvery blue eyes were still sharp with keen interest.

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander," Uncle Harry said warmly, gently shaking the old man's hand, "How are you doing?"

"Wonderful. How is your wand doing? Holly, eleven inches, phoenix feather. Still doing well?"

"As perfect as it was twenty-eight years ago," he said with a smile, "You remember my wife, Ginny, right?"

Aunt Ginny smiled at Mr. Ollivander.

"But of course," the old wizard responded wisely, "Mahogany wood, thirteen inches, thestral hair. A beautiful wand it was."

"And still is," Aunt Ginny replied with a smile.

"Now, who are we in for today?" Ollivander asked, look around expectedly.

"Me, sir," Lily answered bravely.

"Ah, of course. Young Lily, correct?" he asked, and Lily nodded, "Yes. You look very much like your name sake. Would you be so kind to extend your wand arm?"

Lily extended her right arm and a magical tape measure began to twist itself around it. The young girl, however, stared calmly at everything going around her with curiosity.

Uncle Harry reached over and grabbed Aunt Ginny's hand, and the two lovingly stared at their daughter. I looked around and just noticed that my parents were no longer with us. I laughed to myself as I thought, "Mum probably dragged Dad to Flourish and Blott's… then again, I have no right to talk."

"Thank you," Ollivander said with a soft smile, and walked slowly to the back shelves, "I believe I have the perfect wand for you. Vine wood, eleven and half inches, infant unicorn hair."

"Sir?" Lily asked inquisitively, "What is the magical difference between an infant unicorn and a full grown one?"

"Excellent question," Ollivander responded, obviously taken to the young girl, "As you probably know, unicorns do not turn the usual pure white color, that you most commonly see, until the age of one. Before that time, they are a bright, dazzlingly gold. It is extremely difficult to catch an infant unicorn, because they are lightening fast and nearly impossible to catch. They usually dwell in dark, hidden places, which is why you rarely see them. But, I have found that the magical properties are so much more powerful, precise, and particular in the young unicorn foals."

Lily stared at the wand with dancing eyes.

"Well, go on," Ollivander said invitingly, "Try it out."

Lily grasped hold of the wand, and the second her fingers brushed over the wood, I could tell it was her wand. The inside of the tiny, dark shop lit up with a gold, sunshine hue. Jade green grass grew magically bellow her feet, and little butterflies conjured in the air, floating around happily. A pleasant breeze enclosed the damp draft that filled the store seconds before.

"Remarkable," Ollivander said with awe, "You are one extremely powerful witch, young lady," he turned to Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, "I would expect great things from this one if I were you."

"Don't worry," Uncle Harry said proudly, smiling at his only daughter with all the love that the world could possibly ever contain, "We knew that from the second she was born."

Lily's face lit up with a smile and she continued to swish her wand around, magic bursting forth from inside of her involuntarily.

"I always knew Lily would be the best out of us," James said fondly, smiling at his little sister dancing around, making a rainbow of colors collide with each other, and the long chains of shades twisting around, to make a veil above her head, "I remember one day, when she was one and I was five, she wanted her bottle at night. She was crying and wailing for it, and just like that, she levitated it upstairs and fed herself."

I smiled, warmly remembering the story.

"Didn't she then charm the bottle to go attack you?"

James scowled, obviously not remembering that story particularly fondly. Just then, Mariana and Al popped their head into the shop.

"Hey, prats?!" Mariana snapped to get our attention, "Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlour. Now. Let's go."

"You don't have to ask me twice," James said, and with that, rushed out the door.

"Couldn't put it better myself, cousin," I replied, and followed out.

The four teenagers set of down Diagon Alley for the world's greatest wizard's ice cream. Well, I suppose a Muggle could eat it if they wanted to… but unfortunately, Muggles aren't allowed in Diagon Alley. So, I guess they will never know. Aw. Poor Muggles.

"Oh, yum," Mariana sighed with contempt, spooning up her sundae, "I'd like to order a tux with this ice cream, and become Mrs. Mariana Sundae."

"Well, you could just marry Hayden Sundae, from Hufflepuff, and then you wouldn't need to marry an inanimate object," James retorted with a smile.

Al's hand clamped up and he banged it on the table. Mari, James, and I both whipped our heads to turn around at him.

"Something you'd like to say, Potter?" Mariana asked, blinking slowly.

"There was a bug," Al said explanatorily, his face flushed.

Mariana and James resumed talking but I stared at my cousin.

"_A bug? Really, Al? A bug?" _I mouthed to my cousin.

Al's brilliant green eyes got wide, silently pleading me to stay quiet. I smiled reassuringly and relief flushed his face. Mariana and James were ignorant to the whole silent conversation taking place at the left side of the table.

Just then, Caroline Fortesque, granddaughter of the late parlor owner, waved and walked over to our table.

"Hey Al, James, Rose! How are you guys?" the young woman asked kindly.

"Hey, Carol," James responded casually, "Not much. Have you met our friend Mariana?"

"No, I don't think I have," Carol responded, smiling at my best friend, "It's nice to meet you. You guys friends from school?"

"Yeah, we're all in Gryffindor," James replied proudly.

"Lucky, I always wanted to be a Gryffindor. But the hat said I lacked certain qualities."

"Like what?" Al asked, obviously interested.

"Well, it might have something to do with the fact that I scream if someone pops out and yells, 'Boo!' I'm not particularly gifted in the whole bravery stuff," the young witch responded honestly, "Not that I minded ever being a Hufflepuff. I made the best friends of my life."

"It's crazy how much your House becomes your family," Mariana responded, "I always assumed I'd be a Ravenclaw, since all of my family, both my Mum and Dad's sides, were all Ravenclaw's. But, I can't imagine being anywhere but Gryffindor now."

We all chatted pleasantly for a few minutes. Though my psychical body was at the heart of Diagon Alley, my mind was several worlds away. I was twisted up in a million intertwining thoughts.

Am I the leftover pork chop, or what? James and Alice were madly in love. Teddy and Victorie were obviously soul mates. Al and Mariana had a crush on each other. Lily and Hugo were both too young to really know what love was, but I'm sure that after they went to Hogwarts, they'd both develop a crush on fellow classmates. Then, there was me. All painfully alone.

"Hey, James?" Mariana said suddenly, looking out the windows of the parlor, "Isn't that Alice over there?"

James's head snapped the other direction, scanning the street. Sure enough, Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, Jerry, and Alice were walking down the alley. Alice's dark blonde hair was flowing freely behind her (James's favorite), she was wearing straight black jeans and a long sleeved pale lilac sweater, and she was looking around anxiously.

James bolted straight out the door and tackled Alice with a huge hug. Alice turned around and a radiant smile lit up her face.

"Get a room!" Mariana yelled through the open window in the ice cream shop.

Alice laughed and waved to the three of us. James scowled at Mariana, who grinned at him cheekily. James then shook hands with Mr. Longbottom and hugged Mrs. Longbottom and began to chat animatedly with Jerry.

"How does he do it?" Al muttered.

"How does who do what?" Mariana asked, interestedly.

"How does he keep up a conversation with Alice without fainting if he likes her so much? How does he still keep his friendship with Jerry even though he snogs his sister? How does Mr. Longbottom like him if he's dating his daughter? How does Mrs. Longbottom think he's like the best thing ever? HOW DOES HE MAKE RELATIONSHIPS SO EASY?" Al practically yelled, banging his head on the table.

"I take it you have girl problems," Mariana presumed.

"Yes."

"Do you want to tell me about them?"

"No."

Mariana blinked slowly. Her porcelain cheeks flushed over with rose and she stood up from the table.

"Well, fine, Al. Don't tell one of your best mates. It's not like she minds being in the dark about all your stupid Weasley/Potter secrets."

With that, she grabbed her bag and stormed out the door. Al put his hands in his head and I squeezed his shoulder gently. Carol shot me a knowing look from the counter.

"Why do I always screw everything up?" Al whined, "Stupid women."

"Thanks," I responded, raising an eyebrow at my cousin, "I'm sorry, mate, but you're a Potter. All Potter's suck at relationships. I mean, you're dad planned on living his whole life ignoring his feelings for your mum so my dad wouldn't kill him. That plan sort of failed when he snogged her in front of the whole Gryffindor common room. Then, your granddad refused to get over your grandma and asked her out, like, everyday at school until she finally said yes. Not the best love tactics."

"Thanks for the encouragement," Al responded wistfully.

"But, luckily for you, you have Weasley blood in you. Most of the Weasley's are pretty good at romance, with the exception of Ron and Percy, but they ended up with their dream girls after all," I said bracingly.

"So what do I do?" Al asked pathetically.

I stood up in the middle of the shop and yelled at my cousin, embarrassing him to the farthest dimension of shame, but I didn't particularly care.

"I will tell you what you will do! You shall get up off your lazy butt, find her, and snog her in broad daylight to let the whole world now! It's a lot easier for the news to get around by gossip than you having to be the carrier of news."

"Yeah," Al said suddenly standing up, "I'm going to go do that!"

With that, he ran out of the store.

"You think he's really going to?" Carol asked.

"No way," I snorted, "He'll be back in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"

On cue, my cousin ran back inside, his face a sickly green color.

"I can't do it!" he exclaimed, sinking back into his chair

I took my cousin's hand in mine, waved goodbye to Carol, and dragged him onto the street. We wandered aimlessly, and I noticed Al's mood picking up significantly. He's quite an easy kid, actually. Just give him some sunshine and he's as happy as a clam. Or, so the Muggles say. We found our way to Ollivanders, just as Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry exited, Mum and Dad following behind them.

"I got my wand!" Hugo said smugly, waving it around in the air, "Brazilian oak, fourteen inches, dragon heartstring."

"Congratulations, Hugo," I said irritatedly, snatching the wand from him, "Now would you please stop waving it around, or you'll take someone's eye out. And keep it pointing down."

"Okay, _Mum_," Hugo said, smirking, as if he was the first to ever use that joke.

"Hugo," Mum warned from several feet away.

"Merlin, that woman has ears like a hawk," Hugo muttered under his breath, storing his wand in his new wand holder attached to his trousers.

"Alright, now, Rosie," Mum turned to me, tying her hair back with a band, "We're having dinner at Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's tonight. Fleur told me it is going to be a bit formal. Do you have a dress you could wear?"

"Oh, sure, because I have an ever expanding collection of ball gowns," I teased my mother.

"Rose," Mum warned.

"Relax, mother dearest, only teasing. Don't get your wand in a not. Umm, the only dress I own is from the wedding you lot dragged me to when I was eight. Can't remember who got hitched, though."

"It was Dennis Creevey's wedding, dear. I don't suppose that will fit now. Did Mariana bring something that might fit you? You're about the same size. Speaking of her, where is she?"

"With James and Alice," I replied; Mum looked at me questioningly, "She and Al were bickering, so she stormed off."

Mum smirked.

"Sounds like your father and I in school."

"Sounds like you and Ron still, Hermione," Uncle Harry joked, gently nudging Mum with his elbow, "So, what are we talking about over here?"

"Just your son falling in love with my best mate," I responded, keeping my face quite serious.

"Al likes Mariana?" Uncle Harry said with utter astonishment.

"Oh, honestly, Harry!" Mum groaned exasperatedly, "Do try and pay attention to your son once in a while."

"I do, Hermione!" Uncle Harry protested, "But there has been absolutely no warning."

"Really, you're just as bad as Ron! Don't you notice how he will glance over at her all the time and how she glances at him? That he always offers to get her things or is eager to run errands with her?"

"No, not really," Uncle Harry responded truthfully.

"Oh, Merlin," Mum muttered, "Rose, I'll go find you something suitable to wear tonight."

"Can't wait," I said less that enthusiastically.

After watching Mum walk away, making sure she was out of ear shot, Uncle Harry turned to me, his brilliant green eyes wide.

"Want to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies?"

"You know it!" I smiled.

"Oh, you two planning on leaving me out of this little date?" Aunt Ginny asked, walking over smirking.

"Harry!" Dad called out, jokingly affronted, "To think I thought you were my best mate!"

"Nope, I've hated you all this time," Uncle Harry said with a straight face, "It was always to get to Ginny."

"I knew it," Ron responded, continuing the playful banter, "You pompous prat!"

"Don't you forget it," Uncle Harry said with a wink.

"Did you lot ever grow up after Hogwarts?" I said exasperatedly, looking at the three adults repartee like fourth years.

"Nope," they all responded in unison.

"But on the bright side, you're mum had enough maturity to make up for our lack of," Aunt Ginny said with a smile.

"True true," Dad responded, a little too eagerly.

The three sorry excuses for adults and I walked down to the famous Quidditch store in Diagon Alley. When we walked in, my eyes immediately flickered over to a small family looking through the shelves. A tall man with receding light blonde hair and grey eyes that looked far too familiar stood next to a pretty, petite woman with long blonde hair herself, those hers was a darker shade. Next to them stood a face I was all too familiar with.

Scorpius looked up and our eyes met.

Uncle Harry obviously saw them so, being the Boy-Who-Must-Talk-To-Every-Ruddy-Person, he bravely walked over.

"Hello, Draco. How are you doing?" he asked kindly, not showing any emotion over the fact that the man before him was a former Death Eater.

"Hello, Harry," Mr. Malfoy responded stiffly, not showing any emotion over the fact that the two men were on opposite sides during the Second Wizarding War, "I'm doing well, thank you. Have you met my wife, Astoria?"

"I don't believe I have," Harry offered Mrs. Malfoy a hand, which she shook with a smile, "Nice to meet you."

"Pleasure," she echoed warmly.

"This is my son, Scorpius," Mr. Malfoy said, motioning to Scorpius, who stared at the carpet, and then he turned to me, "Is this your daughter?"

"Oh, no, this is my brother's daughter," Aunt Ginny said, looking around for Dad, who was nowhere to be seen, "This is Rose. She's a third year."

Mr. Malfoy nodded.

"So is Scorpius," Mrs. Malfoy said, turning to her son, "Do you have any classes with Rose, darling?"

"Some," Scorpius said quietly.

After several seconds of awkward silence, Uncle Harry announced that we should probably be off. He shook Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy's hands goodbye and smiled to Scorpius.

"See you at school," I sat flatly, and followed my family out the door.

The second we exited the store, Dad, who had been waiting outside, rounded on Uncle Harry viciously.

"Bloody hell, Harry! Why did you talk to him?"

"Ron, get over it. The war is over. There is no need to keep hating each other."

"Yeah, there is a reason to keep hating him," Dad argued heatedly, "He is obsessed with being a pureblood, tried to kill you multiple times, was best mates with You-Know-Who, called my _wife_ a Mudblood on multiple occasions, and continues to be a git to this day!"

"Oh, sod off, Ron!" cried Aunt Ginny agitatedly, "You will not let go of it, will you? He's is not a part of the pureblood mania anymore, he has apologized to Harry to his face for the things he did during the war, he only became a Death Eater because he was scared of You-Know-Who, and he has apologized to Hermione to her face for the things he's said to her. He obviously has tried to make up for what he did during the war. Why won't you, like everyone else, accept his apology and move on with your life?"

"He is NOT over the whole pureblood thing," Dad stated stubbornly, "Astoria is a pureblood."

"Yes, Ron, he happened to fall in love with a pureblood. Dad is a pureblood, and fell in love with Mum, who was a pureblood. Does that make Dad a pureblood mania git?"

"Th-that's different."

"No it is not," Aunt Ginny said obstinately.

We walked in awkward silence; Aunt Ginny and Dad were red in the face like only a Weasley could. Just then, Mum ran over, holding a casual summer dress that was pale gold with ruby swirls.

"Oh, Rosie, look what I found!" she waved the dress in victory, "This will look gorgeous on you! Ron, honey, don't you think?"

"What? Oh, yes, of course," Dad muttered distantly.

Just then, Alice, James, and Mariana came into sight, exiting a shop at the end of the alley, laughing in hysterics. Mariana caught my eye and waved. I returned the signal. Alice and James were holding hands.

"What's up?" I asked, as they made their way over to us.

"James knocked over an entire rack of casual men's robes in Madam Malkin's," Alice said, her cheeks becoming rosier as she giggled, "She almost hexed James right then and there, until she realized he was a Potter, and then just told him, 'Not to worry, my dearie.'"

"Nice going," I teased an embarrassed looking James, graciously accepting the verbal beating from his girlfriend.

"Oh, James?"

Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny walked over with smirks on their face, but they crossed their arms and pretended to look menacing.

"Is there something you'd like to tell us about you and Alice, Mr. Oh-We're-Just-Friends?" Aunt Ginny asked innocently, blinking her long eyelashes.

"You haven't told them?" Alice asked incredulously, turning to James, "My parents have known for months!"

"They knew first?! Unfair!" Uncle Harry yelped, until catching Aunt Ginny's eye, and they continued with their scheme, "I mean, tell us what?"

James, obviously seeing his parent's system of embarrassment, looked them straight in the eyes, without blushing or acting feeble.

"Alice and I are dating."

"Oh, you don't say?" Aunt Ginny said with mock surprise, "Oh, I would have never guessed! Come on, James, how thick do you think we are?"

"I figured you knew," said James, "But even Dad knew? Man, I'm obvious."

"Oh, no, you're mum had to tell me," Uncle Harry admitted sheepishly, smiling at his wife, "I am hopeless when it comes to relationships."

"We know," we all said in unison.

"At least you're better than Dad!" I said with a smile.

"Thanks Rosie!" Dad called sarcastically over from where he and Mum were chatting, "I love the support in this family."

"No problem, Dad," I replied, smiling, "I work wonders on your self esteem, I know."

"Guys, we need to head back to The Burrow and get ready for tonight," Mum warned, checking her clock.

Uncle Harry checked his own.

"Goodness, I didn't even know how late it was. Alright, you lot, off to the Leaky Cauldron!"

So, the Weasley/Potter's, with the exception of Alice and Mariana, made our way down through the alley, bustling with people, to the old bar. Saying a quick hello and flashing a smile to Tom, the old bartender, we heading over to the fireplace and Flooed back to The Burrow.

The house sprung alive with mayhem getting ready for the dinner tonight. James spent nearly an hour obsessing over attempting to secure his tie (he never succeeded), Uncle George tripped Dad down the stairs, Mum yelled at Hugo for setting the kitchen on fire, Alice walked out of the bathroom in a towel only to be seen by Al (who screamed), and the Weasley/Potter's barely made it to Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's without having any permanent breakdowns.

"Ready, everyone?" Granddad Weasley called from downstairs, "We need to head over."

A million Weasley's and Potter's flooded down the stairs of The Burrow, lining in front of the fireplace. One by one, we all grabbed some Floo Powder, threw it into the fireplace, and yelled, "Bill and Fleur's Cottage!"

I threw my own Floo Powder into the fireplace, walked in, and stepped out on the opposite side. Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's medium sized cottage was flooded with a million red headed relatives, calling out to each other.

People watching is one of my favorite hobbies, so I did a mental head check of all the Weasley's. All together, I saw Bill Weasley, Fleur Weasley, Victorie Weasley, Dominique Weasley, Louis Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Percy Weasley, Audrey Weasley, Molly II Weasley, Lucy Weasley, George Weasley, Angelina Weasley, Fred II Weasley, Roxanne Weasley, Granddad Arthur Weasley, Grandma Molly Weasley, Ron Weasley, Hermione Weasley, Hugo Weasley, and your humble narrator, Rose Weasley. And you thought I was kidding when I said our family was huge.

Oh, and that is only the family members with the surname Weasley at this little gathering. There were more family and friends at the get-together who unfortunately had not inherited the great family name of Weasley. Such as Harry Potter, Ginny Potter, James II Potter, Albus Potter, Lily II Potter, Luna Lovegood, Lila Scamander, Lorcan Scamander, Lysander Scamander, Alice Longbottom, Mariana Corner, and Teddy Lupin. Yeah, straight up. We Weasley's know how to throw a party.

I waved across the room to Lila, who was already talking to Mariana.

"Hey, Lila!" I hugged my other best friend, "How are you doing?"

"Quite well, and you?" she asked, but continued before I could answer, "I don't know if you remember, but this is my mother, Luna Lovegood."

"Oh, yes, of course. Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Scam- I mean, Miss Lovegood," I finished hastily, embarrassed.

"Hello, Rose," Luna said in a dreamy voice, not paying attention at all to my surname slip up, "You look very much like your mother."

"Thank you," I said kindly.

I looked at the mother and daughter standing next to each other. Lila looked exactly how I imagine Luna looked at thirteen years old. They had identical long, wavy, dirty blonde and misty, silver blue eyes. Lila was almost as tall as her mother and the exact same build: petite and dainty.

"Lorcan, Lysander," Luna called vaguely to her two sons, who had been playing with an average Muggle house plant, without turning around, "Don't touch that."

"Why?" Lorcan asked, confusedly.

"Those particular plants are often invested with knargles," Luna said simply.

Mariana looked at me, her dark eyebrows arched.

"Bloody mental," she mouthed.

I shot her a scolding look and just nodded in agreement with Luna. Lila smiled and lingered over towards Al and began to chat with him. Mariana quickly followed in suit, but I tugged on the back of her dress.

"Back off," I muttered.

My best friend took a cool breath and announced that she was going to get some punch I silently agreed that was a good idea.

"Have you met my brothers?" Lila asked suddenly.

I shook my head and she grabbed my hand and led over me over to two dark blonde haired boys talking to Molly and Lucy.

"Rose, this is Lorcan," she motioned to the boy on the right and then motioned to the boy on the left, "And this is Lysander."

The boys, thought two years younger than Lila, were taller than their sister. Their hair was cut short, with swished side bangs that brushed the top of their blue eyes dappled with green, much darker and less oblique as Lila's. The twins were, in two words, unconditionally adorable.

"Nice to meet you guys," I said with a smile.

"Likewise," the twins chorused.

"Hi, Rose," Lucy called over, running half way to meet me in a hug.

Lucy's light, golden brown hair was pulled back into a loose French braid, with a few wavy ringlets framing her heart shaped face and setting off her golden eyes with dark rims.

"Hi, Lucy," I gave my 10-year-old cousin a big hug, "Do you know Lorcan and Lysander?"

"No, we just met them," my other cousin, and Lucy's sister, Molly said.

I gave Molly a quick hug, and noticed her own golden brunette locks (identical color to her sister) were hanging a few inches below her shoulders.

"Hey, you got a haircut. Looks good."

Molly shrugged, since she was more into studying than looks.

"So are you looking forward to your first year at Hogwarts?" I ask, "Which house do you want to be sorted into?"

"I'm hoping Ravenclaw," Molly answered, "Dad wants me to be sorted into Gryffindor, like him, but I think intellect is my dominating traits."

"I take it you're mother doesn't care?" I asked, since Aunt Audrey was a Muggleborn from British Columbia, Canada.

"No, her school didn't do houses or anything. It sounded pretty boring, to be honest," Molly said frankly.

Just then, Mariana wandered over and truck up a chat with the two Scamander boys. Naturally, (what else would my best mate talk about?), it was Quidditch talk.

"So, what's your Quidditch team?" Mariana asked seriously, as though it would affect her choice to like or dislike them.

"I'm a Tornados fan," Lorcan immediately piped up, receiving a nasty look from his twin.

"Me too!" Mariana responded enthusiastically, "He's already my favorite twin. Sorry, Lysander."

"It's alright, I'm a Westgate Wings fan," Lysander said with pride.

"So am I!" Lucy responded with a smile.

"When are you starting Hogwarts?" Lysander asked curiously.

"Next year," Lucy replied sadly, "I wish I could be going this year with Molly."

"You're being sorted this year?" Lorcan asked.

Molly nodded her head in response.

"So are we!" the twins responded eagerly.

"It'd be great if we could all be in the same house," Lucy sighed wistfully, "What house do you want to be in?"

"I'd like to be in Ravenclaw, like Mum and Dad," Lorcan replied immediately.

"I don't know, honestly," Lysander started slowly, "I suppose I wouldn't mind being in Ravenclaw, though I've never thought of myself as extraordinarily smart. I reckon Hufflepuff wouldn't be too bad, you know? I'd rather be in Gryffindor, though."

"Me too," Lucy agreed, with a charming and adorable smile.

"Children," Mum called out, getting out the mini Weasley's attention, "Everyone find a spot to sit at the table."

We all walked over to the HUGE dinner table and found a spot to sit down. Mariana sat on the left side of me, Al on the right. James and Alice sat across from us, holding hands and smiling at each other. Stupid "in love" prats. Teddy pulled a chair back for Victorie and sat down next to her. He nervously twiddled his thumbs.

"Teddy," I whispered.

The turquoise haired, hazel gold eyed young wizard turned his head towards me.

"Are you okay?" I mouthed.

He smiled back nervous and nodded his head. He put his left hand in his pocket and rested it there comfortably.

Aunt Fleur grabbed her goblet, filled with Aunt Audrey's special pumpkin juice, and softly tapped her fork against it. The whole table turned to her.

"We eenvited ze 'hole family 'ere tonight to celebrate with uz for ee very special occazion. Teddy, would you like to take eet from 'ere?"

Our eyes turned to Teddy, who was standing up and seemed to be shaking at the knees. By the look on Victorie's face, she was just as confused as the rest of us.

"For as long as I can remember, everyone here has been like a family to me. My parents died in the Second Wizarding war, as you all know, and I'm sad I never had a chance to meet them. I'm also incredibly proud that they, in my father's words, died to make my world a better place."

A sad silence fell over the whole group, taking a moment of silence to honor Remus and Nymphadora Lupin.

"However," Teddy continued bravely, taking Victorie's hand, "I want to take a moment to that my godfather, Harry Potter. He and Ginny raised me as though I was there own. They made up for all the love my parents never had the time to give me. For that, I want to thank and honor them now."

A round of applaud burst around the table and Uncle Harry stood up and embraced his godson in a hug. When the two men parted, Uncle Harry gave Teddy a firm pat on the bat.

"I'm proud of you, son," Uncle Harry said huskily, and sat down next to his wife, proudly letting their third son continue.

"I never felt like I had lost out on having a family, as Uncle Harry told me he felt as a child. I felt like I had all the family in the world. Then, when I barely two years old, I met Victorie Weasley."

All eyes turned to the tall, blue eyed, strawberry blonde haired beautiful woman sitting next to Teddy.

"I can't remember it too well, but I have the constant burden of the stories. I looked Victorie, thinking that I didn't know anything in the world could be so tiny. Or so strange looking."

The group laugh and Victorie blushed deep red, but kept her steady gaze on Teddy.

"We grew up together and I have so many memories with Victorie. Then, when she finally came to Hogwarts, we became the best of friends. Finally, at my last year at Hogwarts, and her fifth, we all played truth or dare. I dared Victorie to kiss me."

A sweet silence hung in the air.

"And she did."

A chorus of "aww's" erupted around the table. Alice looked over at James and flashed a sweet grin, and James looked like he was melted to the core. Mariana and Al awkwardly glanced at each other, and then when they actually caught each other's eyes, they stared down again.

"She first told me she loved me when she was 16. I didn't think there were any more beautiful words in this entire universe."

Teddy took a deep breath.

"So, I am now going to ask the question that I've wanted to ask Torie since that day," he said slowly as he got down on his knees.

Victorie gasped as Teddy pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it. Inside, held a simple, gold, flat wedding band with little flat, sparkly diamonds wrapped all the way around the ring in a single file wave.

"Victorie Fleur Weasley," Teddy asked, staring straight into her eyes, "will you marry me?"

"Oh, Teddy!" Victorie cried, and she launched herself into his arms.

"Err, I'll take that as a yes," Teddy mumbled into her shoulder.

"Don't be a prat, of course that's a yes!" Victorie exclaimed, making Teddy grin.

Teddy cupped his hands around Victorie's face, and the newly engaged couple kissed. Slow. Soft. As if there was all the time left in the world. Because, for them, there was.

By the time they drew apart, Teddy's hair was bright pink. All of the family and friends laugh.

"I thought you had learned how to control that," Victorie teased lightly.

"Get a room!" James yelled loud, ruining the sappy moment.

The whole room burst into laughter and Victorie and Teddy both blushed.

Uncle Bill embraced his oldest daughter in a hug.

"Congratulations, my little flower," he murmured in her ear, "You held out for a hero."

"Thank you, Daddy," Victorie whispered softly, then hugging her mother.

"_Félicitations, ma fille.__Vous serez aussi heureux que ton père et moi_," Aunt Fleur whispered in rapid French, the joy for her daughter radiating off her face.

"What did she say?" Al asked, confused.

I shrugged.

"She said, 'Congratulations, my daughter. You will be as happy as your father and I are'," Mariana replied immediately.

All the Weasley's and Potter's head's turned towards Mariana.

"You speak French?" Al asked incredulously, looking at her as if she was the most brilliant thing to walk the earth.

"Yes," Mari retorted.

Aunt Fleur smiled at her husband and then looked at me, raising a blonde eyebrow, silently asking the question we were all wondering.

_Are they in love?_

I paused a moment and smiled. I didn't know 100%, but I could imagine how this might play out. I grinned back at my French Veela aunt.

_I think so._

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**Wow. I don't think I have ever done so much re-writing and editing as much as I have these past couple days. Thank you to everyone who favorited, put me on their story watch, and commented! Keep it up, I love it soooooo much! :) Alright, now I have to go write a ton more! Hugs and kisses... wish me luck. I may need some Advil!**


	12. September 1st

**PLEASE READ! I have an excuse! Yes, it has been 10 days since I updated! More than a week. And I apologize from the bottom of my heart. So, since I love you guys, I will give you an excuse. First off, I was up to my eyeballs in work and then my computer freaked out, THEN, on top of it all, I got the stomach flu :( So, obviously, I did not want to throw up all over my computer. So I'm all well now and ready to start updating again! Thank you for bearing with me.**

**Disclaimer: As I mentioned above, I became victim to the evils of the stomach flu this weekend. I have heard no records of JK Rowling being sick this weekend, so I can obviously not be her. This means I must not own Harry Potter :( But, me being sick doesn't change the fact that I own this plot. So you can't have it. Sorry :)**

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As if I had an internal alarm clock set, my eyes snapped open bright and early on the morning of September 1st. I looked around the small room. Mariana was still fast asleep, her long brunette hair pulled up on the top of her head in a wild messy bun. A small grin pulled up at the corners of my lips.

Rolling out of the bed, I walked up a floor to use the tiny bathroom. Grabbing a washcloth, I quickly washed my face and patted it dry. Looking around for my hair brush, I promptly brushed through my long red curls, careful not to provoke the frizz more than possible. Finally, I finished off with a light coat of mascara. Quick, clean, and fresh.

I quickly changed into a clean pair of jeans, a white undershirt, and dark grey jumper. I expected by the time I was back in my room, Mariana would be waking up. However, when I opened the door, Mariana was still as asleep as ever.

"Mari," I whispered softly, gently shaking my best mate.

Her eyes still stayed shut, but her head turned slightly to the left. Her mouth hung slightly open, forming a little "O".

"Mariana," I whispered, though slightly louder.

"Gaaaaaaarm!" she groaned.

"Well, garm to you, too," I chuckled, "It's time to get up, sleeping beauty."

"Don't do this to me, Rose," Mariana muttered, "Just let me sleep."

"Come on, Mari," I prodded, opening the kitchen, "It's a new day, a new year! We're going off to Hogwarts today. For our third year! Can you believe it?"

"Yes, I can believe it," she mumbled into her pillow, "now shut up and let me sleep."

"Al is here," I crooned softly.

Just then, my best mate jumped up out of bed, then tripped over her open trunk on the floor. We both burst out laughing, falling on the floor. Mariana wiped laughter tears from her eyes.

"That was all part of my matter plan," she joking defended.

"And that plan would be to make a huge prat of yourself?" I teased, "Well, you succeeded."

"Shut up, Weasley," Mariana muttered, searching through her trunk, and pulling out a pair of jeans, a cream tank, and a pumpkin jumper.

"I will be back," she whispered sleepily, and opened the door quietly, tip-toeing to the upstairs bathroom.

I quickly jumped up off of the quilt-covered bed and grabbed a leather book at the top of the pile in my truck. I quickly searched around for a quill and ink. Finding both, I sat back down, opened the book, dipped the quill in the ink, and began to write.

_September 1__st__, 2019_

_Dear Diary,_

_My third year. My third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It seems like it's gone so fast. Everything seems to go by so fast. Too fast. When does it all stop? When does the clock stop ticking? Or does it ever? Wait, I changed my mind. I don't want to hear the answer._

_Everything here is crazy. I don't know what to think anymore. It seems as though the relationship world is in mayhem here at Hogwarts. I am just waiting for the day that Al and Mari snog and get it over with already._

_I saw Scorpius last week, at Diagon Alley. He was with his parents. I have to admit, it was strange seeing him with his family. I guess we all feel that way about our fellow Hogwarts students. _

_When does the craziness end? When does all the confusion stop? I don't know what to feel anymore. I don't know what to think anymore. A million thoughts are whispering in my ear. I try to ignore them all._

_I probably should go and start to get ready to leave. Mum is always in a frenzy in the first morning of school. Oh dear, I hear her yelling at Hugo to get up. Wait, who else is yelling? Oh, that's Aunt Ginny yelling at James. What's that third voice? Oh, that's Grandma Weasley yelling at…. everyone._

_For Now,_

_Rose _

The door creaked back open and Mariana walked in, her vibrant ocean blue eyes wide and awake and her long brunette hair shinning and perfectly swishy curled at the ends.

"I hate you," I growled, after taking in her appearance.

"Yes, most people do," she responded indifferently, putting her final few items in her trunk.

Locking our trunks and leaving them by the door, for Dad and Uncle Harry to take down later, we walked upstairs to see if Al was up, when a giant "SPLASH" came from the bathroom.

"JAMES!" a voice hollered.

Al opened up the door, completely dressed and looking reading for the day, but with a minor drawback: he was soaking wet… with broken water balloons wrappers all over his body.

Just then, James strode over to the bathroom.

"Merlin, Al. I do say, what are you soaking wet?" James asked innocently, his golden hazel eyes twinkling.

Just then, much to James disadvantage, Aunt Ginny walked downstairs, dressed in a casual, sporty outfit. She took one look at her youngest son and her entire face flushed with anger.

"James…" she said in a dangerously soft voice.

"Now, Mum," James said frantically, "I will clean everything up, don't worry.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!" she bellowed, her fiery red hair wiping like a thunderstorm around her face, "THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU HAVE THOUGHTLESS PRANKED ANYBODY IN THIS HOUSE! YOU SO _RUDLY _AND WITHOUT REASON SOAKED YOUR LITTLE BROTHER TO THE SKIN, AFTER HIM DOING NOTHING TO YOU! YOU ARE… YOU ARE DEAD, JAMES! GO GET ME YOU'RE BROOMSTICK!"

James's eyes grew wide with fear.

"You wouldn't…" he stuttered.

"Oh, yes I would, mister!" she barked back, pointing her finger resolutely at James's door, "You get me that broomstick _right now_."

James reluctantly opened his door and grabbed his LightningBolt broomstick, and with shaking hands, gave it to his mother, whose bright brown eyes with blazing.

"You can consider yourself grounded from this broomstick until further notice," she said angrily, and continuing on when James opened his mouth to protest, "You will have to practice on the school's broomsticks until your first game, when I will send this back to you."

With that, she stormed away with determination, leaving us four with our mouths agape. James looked horrorstruck.

"I'll have to ride the school's old Comet 140," he said weakly, his face turned a sickening color.

With that, a defeated James walked into his room and closed his door. An awkward silence filled the usually chatter filled hallway. Al still stood there, soaked to the skin, looking as if he didn't know quite what to say.

Then, leave it to Mariana, she burst out laughing.

"This is the single greatest moment of my life!" she exclaimed triumphantly, walking up to James's closed door and yelling, "Eat that Potter!"

With that, she followed the mouthwatering smells floating from the kitchen two floors below.

"Merlin, Al," I turned to look at my drenched cousin, "Kudos to you for putting up with that one."

I walked downstairs to follow my best friend, who had seated herself at the breakfast table with my Mum, Dad, Granddad Weasley, Uncle Harry, Lily, Hugo, and Alice. I slid next to Mariana, who had helped herself to potatoes.

"Oh, good Rose, you're up," Mum said frantically, hoping up from her seat, "Do you and Mariana have everything packed? Is it all waiting by the door? Are you sure you didn't forget something. Are you—"

"Mom!" I interrupted, putting my hand on her shoulder, "Breathe. Relax. Eat some toast. It's good."

"No, no, there is no time!" she snapped back, "I need to make sure everything is all ready. I'll go upstairs and check."

With that, she shot upstairs to check that every nook and cranny was in place to leave. I looked over at Dad, who looked as if he was resisting the urge to laugh at his frazzled wife. She probably wouldn't appreciate that.

Just then, Aunt Ginny stormed downstairs, her cheeks still red and her eyes still flashing dangerously. Uncle Harry looked up and seemed to pale at the sight of her. We all knew what was about to happen.

"Harry, do you know what James did to Al this morning?" she asked, in a treacherously supple tone.

"Errrr," Uncle Harry stuttered, "He embraced him in a loving and brotherly hug?"

The feeble joke was an attempt to ease up tension, but it didn't go as planned. Aunt Ginny didn't seem to be laughing.

"Well, he set a bag of water balloons to drop on Al as soon as he went into the lu to change!" she barked, her hands set on her hips threateningly.

"I-I'm sure he will apologize and will not do it again," said Uncle Harry unconvincingly.

"Well, this might not have happened if you had not practically encouraged him to prank people growing up!" Aunt Ginny practically screamed, "Besides, what did you think would happen by naming the child _James Sirius _Potter? Why did I agree to naming him after two of the four most legendary pranksters to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts!"

With that, Aunt Ginny stormed upstairs and a loud "SLAM!" was heard up above. Nobody dared to call upstairs and ask what it was.

"Mate," Dad started, clapping a hand on Uncle Harry's shoulder, "It must be a morning for our wives to go berserk."

"Maybe you've driven them crazy," Mariana offered, with a smile.

The table burst out in a loud round of laughter, especially Dad and Uncle Harry, who were nearly in hysterics.

"Trust me, they were both a bit psycho even before we married them," Uncle Harry said with a smile, taking a bite of his pancakes.

"Love is a cruel joke, remember that," Dad grinned, then sobered and turned to me, "Except for you, Rose. You're not allowed to fall in love."

"Too late," Mariana muttered.

"What did you say?!" Dad barked, turning to my best mate.

"Errrr, I said, 'Look, grapes'," she replied, putting on a smile and her best poker face and grabbing a small vine of grapes from the bowl in front of her.

Dad's eyebrows furrowed together and he continued to eat in silence. Al finally made his entrance, dry, and his usual self. Mariana immediately blushed and tucked her hair behind ear, staring down at her food as though it was suddenly very interesting.

James, at last, graced us with his presence and he immediately locked eyes with his girlfriend, whose porcelain cheeks flushed as she smiled. He sat next to Alice and linked hands, acting all dreamy eyed and gushy.

Lily and Hugo were excitedly talking about being first years. Oh, little did they know what they were in for. The whole house seemed to be surprisingly mellow for the first day of school. Mum and Aunt Ginny hadn't descended, but you could bet you're arse that the whole world would know when they did.

As if on cue, Mum flounced downstairs and Aunt Ginny followed behind quickly.

"Alright, gang!" Aunt Ginny said with a clap of her hands, "It's time to get rolling. Harry, Ron, would you please go get everyone's trunks all loaded up? Everyone else make sure you haven't forgotten anything and load up into the car."

Then, mayhem broke out. Al was running around looking for his favorite quill, Alice couldn't find her guitar, Lily shrieked that she couldn't find her diary, James couldn't find his Seeker gloves, Hugo couldn't find some "sensitive" items, and Mariana couldn't find her song sheets.

"You write songs?" Al asked incredulously.

"Yes," Mariana replied flippantly, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Finally, after a lot of struggling and lots of yelling (mainly coming from the three main women of the household: Mum, Aunt Ginny, and Grandma Weasley), we were all loaded up in the magically stretched Ford Anglia, though we still had to squeeze together.

"Everyone ready?" Dad called out from the driver's seat.

"How was it decided that Ron was going to be the one to drive?" Mum turned to Uncle Harry and asked.

"He called first dibs, Hermione," Uncle Harry said obviously, earning him a rolling of the eyes from his pretty wife.

"Alice, would you get your owl to shut up?" James grumbled irritatedly, since the little jet owl was twittering excitedly next to James's ear.

"Rena!" Alice snapped her fingers at the bird, "By the way, _James_, you don't have to yell at me for it. It's not my fault the owl won't shut up."

The couple crossed their arms and pointedly looked away from each other. Mariana, Al, and I exchanged looks that said "_Warning: Hormonal Teenager Couple Alert"._

Finally, we pulled up to King's Cross Station and parked in the closet spot available.

"Alright, everyone, grab you're trunks out of the back and everything else you need," Uncle Harry said, taking charge of the chaos, which he did oh-so-naturally.

Glancing around to make sure no one was looking; Mum conjured up trolley carts for us all to put our trunks, owls, and bags on. We walked into the train station and quickly ran through the wall between Platform 9 and 10, making sure no Muggles accidently spotted us, and appeared on the other side of the gate way. A scarlet train with gold letters, spelling The Hogwarts Express, was alright parked on track.

"Quickly, everyone, load up you're trunks and come back out to say goodbye!" Aunt Ginny called out to the whole lot of us.

Working together was what us Weasley's and Potter's (with the exception of Mariana and Alice) do best. James and Al took control and started loading up the trunks; poor Hugo tried to get in on the action, but simply wasn't strong enough to help load up.

The platform was swamped with Hogwarts students and their parents now, kissing and waving goodbye. Mum pulled me in for a long hug.

"I love you, Rose," she smiled, pecking me quickly on the forehead.

"I love you too, Mum," I said, giving her one last hug.

Dad moved over, attempting to hide the tears in his eyes.

"Goodness gracious, something must have gotten in my eye," he said weakly, rubbing his eyes, and embracing me in a long hug, whispering in my ear, "I love you, my little Rose."

"I love you too, Daddy," I choked out, shocked at how hard it seemed for Dad to let me go.

Uncle Harry was holding Lily in his arms, reverently receiving one last hug before his youngest and only daughter started her first year at Hogwarts.

"If you ever need to talk to me about anything, whether it is school related, friends, boys," Aunt Ginny covered up a laugh with a cough, earning a scowl for Uncle Harry, "Whatever. You can always owl me."

"Okay, Daddy," Lily smiled, and tucked a strand of her long, straight red hair behind her ear.

"I love you, my little Lily Flower. Have a great year."

Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny pulled their daughter in for another hug. I took this opportunity to slip out and on to the train, where Al and Mariana were waiting for me.

"Have you seen Lila yet?" Mariana asked curiously, "I didn't see her on the platform at all?"

"See who?" a soft voice asked.

We looked up to see our other best friend, long wavy blonde haired and dreamy blue eyed Lila Scamander.

We all jumped up to give her hug, which she warmly received. The compartment door opened again and Tommy Finnigan, Jack Thomas, and two other girls with identical curly amber blonde hair and mint green eyes, with dark blue rims.

"Hey, guys!" I said with a smile, hugging the two boys.

"Hey, Rose, this is Emmalina and Bellanna Jouel," Tommy said, motioned two girls, "They are the daughters of my mum's best mate."

"Please, call me Emma," the twin on the left smiled.

"And you can call me Bella," the twin on the right replied.

"What House are you in?" Mariana asked curiously.

"Gryffindor," the two replied.

"Really?" I asked curiously, "I thought you two were Ravenclaw's."

"Our cousin's Gregory and Gina are Ravenclaw's," Bella explained, "So we sit with them a lot."

"They also lock themselves in the library constantly," Tommy teased, "So I decided to bring them out into the real world."

"Watch it, Finnigan," Emma teased gently.

"Looks like someone won't be getting any help when O.W.L's roll around, will they, Em?" Bella asked her sister, a grin pulling up on the corners of her mouth.

Emma shook her head in response and the seven of us laughed together. The twins turned out to be some of the funniest people alive, keeping us laughing the whole train ride. Around lunch time, stomachs began to grumble.

"I wonder how Bernie is holding up," Mariana said jokingly, turning to Al and I.

The three of us burst out laughing, understanding the joke James had made last year about his stomach.

"Bernie?" Jack asked, confused, "As in Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?"

"No," Al said explanatorily, "It's an inside joke. Something my stupid brother said last year."

"Who is your brother?" Emma and Bella chimed inquisitively.

"James Potter," Al replied.

Emma dropped her Gobstones. Bella dropped the leather book she was holding.

"James _Potter_?" Emma questioned, "The one who is the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team?"

"Yes?" Al replied, though it sounds more like a question than a statement.

"Your James's brother?" Bella inquired further.

"Last time I checked, yes," Al said with a weak smile.

"So, that means your Dad is Harry Potter?" Emma asked, in an unbelieving tone.

"Here is comes," Al muttered.

When people hear James, Al, or Lily's surname, they usually flip out over them being The Boy Who Lived's kids. However, this certainly wasn't the case with the Jouel sisters.

"So that means Ginny Weasley, I mean Ginny Potter is your mum!" Bella replied excitedly.

"Errrr, yes," Al replied sheepishly.

"We _love _her!" Emma announced exuberantly, "She was the best player for the Holyhead Harpies in a century!"

"With the exception of Gwenog Jones, of course," Bella interjected.

"Yes, but Gwenog is a Beater, not a Chaser. I'd definitely say Ginny is the best Chaser the Harpies have ever had," Emma reasoned.

"Too true," Bella agreed.

Raindrops began to scatter across the window, creating an off-beat rhythm. The music seemed to be working like a lullaby and soon enough, everyone was yawning.

"Rose," called my best mate's sleepy voice.

I opened an eye.

"Yes?"

"Wake me up so we have time to change… to… when we…" Mariana's voice drifted into sleep land.

My eyelids felt way too heavy to open again. I finally drifted into sleep world and began to dream.

The dream was crystal clear, as if though I was looking straight at it. Mariana and I were sitting by our favorite tree on the grounds. The sky was as blue as could be, without a single cloud in the sky. We both looked much older, like we were 7th years.

Mari had lost her childish cuteness and was very much a beautiful woman. Her long brunette hair fell down to her waist in windblown waves and her ocean blue eyes sparkled like diamonds. She wore a thick red thread around her neck, with a gold heart hanging in the middle. She was holding the necklace absentmindedly.

I also seemed to have lost traces of childhood. My rich red hair was pulled up into a ponytail, the curls spilling out like a fountain. My chocolate brown eyes looked the same as ever but popped a little more than usual, due to a touch of mascara.

"Do you ever think about the future?" Mariana asked, looking out into the sky.

"All the time," I replied, turning to my best friend, "Do you?"

She nodded and looked somber.

"I don't want to leave Hogwarts. I'm not ready to be an adult. I still want to be a child," she whispered.

"I think it's too late for that," I replied with a sad sigh.

"What if I screw up? What if I'm a horrible adult?" Mariana asked.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, "Best bet is to plan it all out in your head, so you're ready for the changes."

"Plans change, though," she replied, "You should know that better than anyone. Considering what happened with…" her voice trailed away softly.

"I know."

A sharp pain throbbed in my heart, preventing me from talking.

I woke up with a jolt. The rain had stopped and the sky was a dusty purple color, meaning we'd be arriving in an hour or so. Everyone else in the compartment was still fast asleep. Emma was leaning her head on Bella and Tommy was resting against the compartment wall. I noticed how close his and Bella's hands were. Lila was curled up under her blanket. Cutest off all, Mariana was curled up against Al, her head lying against his chest. His arm was resting on her shoulder, his hand tangled up somewhere in her long, wavy locks.

I had assumed I was leaning against the other side of the compartment wall, but when I turned to the left, I let out a gasp. I had been leaning against Jack Thomas.

My gasp woke Jack with a start and he looked around, his eyes landing on me.

"Rose, you okay?" He asked concernedly.

"Oh, yeah, fine. I, um, didn't know I fell asleep against you," I whispered sheepishly.

He smiled, his incredibly white teeth sparkling.

"You started to shiver," he explained, "I attempted to give you a blanket but you grabbed my arm instead."

I laughed, attempting to cover the red I was sure was creeping up into my cheeks. What?! You try finding out you were cuddling with a guy as cute as Jack Thomas in your sleep and not blushing a little!

Jack was staring at the window, giving me a second to study him. He looked nothing like his mother nor father, since he was adopted. His fair skin contrasted with his stormy grey eyes. His golden brown hair was wavy and he was forever running his hands through it. His strong chin and easy smile gave him the of the school heartthrob he was. Next to my cousin Louis, of course. But Louis has an advantage of being one-eighth Veela.

"Have you ever noticed how the sky looks like fruit when it's about to set?" he randomly asked.

I had to laugh.

"Fruit?" I chucked incredulously.

"Yeah," he smiled back, "It looks like plums and peaches."

"I think your just hungry thinking about the feast waiting at Hogwarts for us," I teased gently.

His stomach growled with hunger on cue, and we laughed together. I grabbed my bag off the top of the rack and searched through for my sketching book. Grabbing a quill with built in ink I began to doodle absentmindedly, wondering why I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest.

Two small yawns came from across the compartment. Emma was stretching her arms and Bella was rubbing her eyes.

"What time is it?" Bella asked sleepily.

"Quarter till seven."

"We probably should get dressed," Emma pulled for her bag on the rack above.

Smiling, I tapped Mariana and Al on the shoulder. They both bolted straight up with a start, looking at each other, then me, shocked.

"Well, have a nice nap, lovebirds?" I said with a smile, trying not to laugh at their expressions.

"You're treading on thin ice, Weasley" Mariana muttered, embarrassed.

"Yes, I know. Rawr. Very scary. We need to get dressed."

Mariana, Bella, Emma, and I walked down the hallway into the bathrooms to change into our uniforms.

"It feels so good to have these on again," Bella called from her stall, "I feel like it's finally real that I'm coming back home."

"Coming home?" Mariana questioned, "Haven't you been home all summer?"

"Home?" Emma scoffed, "Sure, we've been home if you consider 'home' the place where your parents are. Or, our mother is there, at least."

"What about your father?" I asked curiously.

"Azkaban," they both chorused.

The sadness was obvious in the twins voice, it was also clear they did not want to talk about it. I felt for them and decided to not push it farther.

We excited our stalls, adorned in our Gryffindor robes. I smiled at my best mate, who was struggling tying her tie.

"Stupid bloody things," she muttered, looping it around.

I chuckled as she managed to tie it on correctly.

"Lila, I never asked you at the dinner the other evening," I began chatting, turning to my friend, "How was your summer?"

A smile lit up on her heart shaped face.

"Oh, excellent. Dad and Mum may get back together. I hope so. It's killed Lorcan and Lysander. And me," she said, starting of cheerfully and finishing solemn.

Mariana put her arm around Lila.

"Don't you worry your pretty, knargle invested head, Lila," Mari said with a smile, "I'm sure everything will work out for the best in the end. If not, you'll always have us."

Lila's misty blue eyes got wide.

"Knargles? Where?" she asked as her hand flew up to her head.

Mariana burst out laughing and I gave her a scolding look, to which she responded with a cheeky grin. Emma and Bella seemed a bit confused, but I shot them a look that said _I'll explain later_.

Walking down the hallway, back to our compartment, another compartment door opened. I held my breath.

Scorpius Malfoy walked out. He was already dressed in his robes, the emerald green of his Slytherin tie contrasting with his light blond hair. Vincent walked out after him. His chocolate brown hair and grew out over the summer and when he smiled, his grey blue eyes twinkled.

"Hey, Rose!" he called, walking over and giving me a quick side hug.

"Hey, Vince, how was your summer?"

"Boring," he drawled with a smile, "I was stuck in Scotland with my Dad's psycho relatives for eight weeks. It was two months are torture."

"You poor thing," Mariana teased unsympathetically.

"Oh, Vince, this is Emmalina and Bellanna Jouel. They go by Emma and Bella," I motioned to the twins, who smiled identically.

"Hi," the chorused.

We all chatted pleasantly for a few minutes and then we slipped back into our own compartment, discovering that Al, Tommy, and Jack were too dressed in their robes.

"Never underestimate the smell of clean cotton," Mariana said with a happy sigh, her face buried in her robes.

"Are you trying to suffocate yourself in there?" Lila teased.

"Yes," called out Mariana's muffled reply.

Quietness fell over the group as we all seemed to be thinking about the year to come. I wasn't thinking that far ahead. Or that far away. My mind was lingering into a few compartments over. To a certain pair of grey eyes… No, Rose. No.

"I'm thirsty," I announced, standing up, "I'm going to go find something to drink."

Without waiting to hear a response, I made my way to the food cart, the very last cart. I walked in the cool, refreshing compartment. James, Fred, Roxanne, Jerry, and Alice were sitting in one booth and so were Lily and another girl.

"Hi, Rose!" Lily called as soon as I walked in.

"Hey, Lily," I smiled, taking a seat next to her, "How's your first train ride?"

"Amazing," her face lit up, and she directed me to the girl in front of her, "Rose, this is Juliette Monroe. Juliette, this is my cousin, Rose Weasley."

The young girl smiled. She had gleaming golden copper hair. Her eyes were a sparkling grey and her skin was as fair as snow. She had a tiny, dainty nose and adorably pronounced dimples.

"Hi, Juliette. You look awfully familiar."

"I get that a lot," she quipped back immediately, "It's the eyes, right? Of course it is. Stupid, typical pureblood grey eyes."

I understood now why her eyes were so familiar. They were the same as Scorpius's.

"Well, I think they are pretty anyways," I said with a smile.

Just then, James and Fred strolled over.

"Well, dear little sister, it's you're first day of Hogwarts," James said with a smile, "So, now that we're here, we should establish the rules."

Lily arched a red eyebrow.

"Rules?"

"Why, Lilykins, did you think you would be free to wander the castle and do whatever to your liking?" Fred asked, blinking his eyes in mock shock.

"Actually, yes, I did," Lily glared back.

The two fifth year idiots laughed.

"Did you hear that, Fred?" James said with a laugh.

"Why, yes I did, James. Oh, Lily, you are no longer under the protections of your dearest Mumsie and Popsickle," Fred began, "Out here in the real world, there are many people, particularly of the male race, that we do not want you associated with."

"So, in other words, you don't want me to talk to any guys?" Lily asked innocently.

"Precisely, dear sister. That you for being so understanding and accommodating," James patted Lily on the crown of her red locks.

"Oh, I understand. I never said I'd be accommodating."

With that, Lily grabbed her friends hand and the two girls flounced off.

"Prats," I rolled my eyes, grabbed a water bottle, and headed back to the compartment.

Arriving back at our compartment, the train was slowing down. Everyone began to talk excitedly. Finally, the train went to a complete halt. We all stood up and grabbed our bags off the top racks. We all squashed together in the hallway to get out of the Hogwarts Express.

Walking out, I glanced at the prefect opening my door.

"Alice?"

The green eyed, blonde haired girl smiled back at me.

"Hey, Rose!"

"I didn't know you were a prefect!" I exclaimed, looking at her gold and scarlet badge with a _P _on it, "When did this happen?"

"I received the letter early this summer, when I was in America with my parents and Jerry," Alice smiled, "Didn't James tell you?"

I shook my head and waved goodbye, catching up with my friends.

"Firs' years, over here! Firs' years!" a deep voice called out.

I turned to see Hagrid, an old family friend and longtime Hogwarts staff member, waving the first years down. He caught my eye and smiled.

"Alright there, Rose?" he called out.

I smiled and waved back. Running, I climbed into the last carriage, where everyone was waiting for me. Lila was staring in front of the carriage.

"What are you looking at?" Mariana asked curiously.

"Do you know what thestrals are?" Lila asked.

Everyone nodded.

"My mum says they pull the Hogwarts carriages. Strange to think that they are right there and we can't see them, isn't it?" Lila pondered aloud, curiously.

We all stared at the empty space, pondering over the thought that the creatures, only able to be seen by the witnesses of death, were there at that very moment.

"I wonder what would happen if I walked into them," Al asked curiously, "Would I just walk right through them, since I can't see them, or would they attack me?"

"I don't know, would you like to find out?" Mariana asked innocently, blinking her ocean blue eyes harmlessly.

"Not particularly," Al said just as sweetly, blinking his brilliant green eyes in response.

The carriages rolled up the gravel roads, up to the lit up castle. Lila and Bella were chatting about Astronomy, their favorite subject, and the excited bubble in my stomach grew bigger by the minute. Al had a dazed look on his face.

"What's up?" I asked curiously.

The corners of his mouth pulled up into a dry smile.

"I can't believe Lily and Hugo are being sorted," he confessed incredulously.

"Me either," I agreed, "I wonder which house they are going to be in."

Al and I both look at each other.

"Gryffindor," we laughed together.

The carriage slowed to a halt and we realized that we were finally at the castle. We all loaded out and made our way inside, piling into the Great Hall. Mariana ran over and attempted to hug the long, rectangular Gryffindor table.

"Oh, Gryffindor table, how I've missed you!" she exclaimed, snuggling the table in her arms.

"Mariana," I snorted out with laughter, "People are staring."

"Then tell them to bugger off," she replied simply, plopping on one of the benches.

The last of the Gryffindor's to arrive were James, Fred, Jerry, and Roxanne. They walked over and join Mariana, Tommy, Jack, Emma, Bella, and I.

"Hey, look!" the Weasley twins, Fred and Roxanne, exclaimed with wide-eyed enthusiasm, after noticing Emma and Bella, "Twinkies!"

We all burst out laughing.

"Hey, look!" the Joule twins announced, in equal awe, staring at the Weasley twins, "Say, twins!"

"I don't believe we've met before," Roxanne started, pointed to her brother, "That's Fred."

"And that's Roxanne," Fred smiled.

"Well, I'm Bellanna," Bella smiled, her mint green eyes sparkling, "And this is Emmalina."

"We go by Emma and Bella, though," Emma explained with a smile.

"Ouch, twins with nicknames," Roxanne said softly, "I think they have us beat, Fred."

"We shall see," he muttered dangerously, his grey blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

The tables were nearly all filled, but students keep pouring in the huge, double doors of the Great Hall. Finally, Alice plopped next to James, her dark blonde bangs sticking to her forehead.

"How are first years so confused?!" she exclaimed, almost hysterical, "How can they not know where the Great Hall is when there is _a giant stream of students all walking in one direction_?! Sweet Merlin!"

James put his arm around his frazzled girlfriend and gave her a firm kiss on the cheek.

"Breathe," he said soothingly, giving her the famous James Potter smile.

"There is no time for oxygen!" she shouted, seeming immune to the so-called "heart melting" grin.

"Just ask the male Gryffindor prefect to help," Al said reasonably.

"There isn't a male Gryffindor prefect," Roxanne replied, "There are two girls this year."

"What?!" Mariana exclaimed, looking shocked, "But there is always one girl and one boy."

"Yeah, well, if they are coming from the same class as James, I can understand why," I teased, "They are all a big bunch of baboons!"

James glared in response while we all, even a reluctant Alice, laughed. Finally, the flow of students started to decrease while the noise began to amplify.

At last, Professor McGonagall. appeared in front of the doors, and the first years trailed along behind them. I noticed Lily, Hugo, Lorcan, Lysander, and Molly in the lot.

"There is no way we were that short as first years," Fred announced firmly.

"That's because we were never short," Roxanne reasoned back.

Professor Longbottom stood up from his seat at the Head Table and clinked his fork to his glass.

"You're attention please," he called out, and the students fell silent immediately, "The sorting ceremony will begin immediately, and then we will continue on to the feast."

"When I call your name," Professor McGonagall called to the group of anxious looking first years, "You will come forth, I will place the hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your House."

James and Fred leaned forward in their seats.

"Aarons, Daniel!" Professor McGonagall called, and placed the Sorting Hat on the young boy's head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat cried.

The table clad in yellow and black badgers stood up cheering, and welcomed the boy to their table.

"Abram, Helena!"

The hat was placed on the girls head. Several seconds passed.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Everyone at our table stood up and cheered, and the young girl plopped at the end of the table, looking relived. An older student with long, curly, shimmering brunette hair pulled him in a loose ponytail, with matching chocolate brown eyes greeted the new Gryffindor with a smile.

"Who's that?" Mariana asked.

"That's Gracelyn Jameson, the other Gryffindor Prefect," Alice explained.

The rest of the sorting ceremony flew by with names being shouted, followed by cries of placement from the hat.

"Boldwyn, Rachel!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Davenport, Cayden!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Demington, Reese!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Greengrass, Nelson!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Jensen, Mae!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"McIntyre, Brea!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Monroe, Juliette!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Newton, Daniel!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Potter, Lily!"

Everyone in the room stopped breathing. This was the sorting we were all looking forward to. After all, Harry Potter's youngest and only daughter being sorted is not something passed over lightly. There was a silence throughout the entire hall. James and Al seemed to not even blink.

Several minutes had passed, and Lily's facial expressions conveyed she was talking with the hat in her head.

A total of almost 7 minutes have flown now, but the hat hadn't made a decision. It looked as though he and Lily were still conversing. Teachers at the High Table were glancing around at each other, looking concerned. Finally, a cry filled the silent hall.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Jaws dropped. Nearly everyone gasped. James and Al looked as if someone had just told them they had to marry each other.

Lily Potter… in Slytherin? Lily Potter, whose mother was a Weasley, the family who had been sorted in Gryffindor for centuries? Lily Potter, whose father was a Potter, the family rumored to be related to Godric Gryffindor himself?

I snuck a glance over to Scorpius, who looked nearly as shocked as the rest of us. Finally, Lily bravely stood up, and handed the Sorting Hat back to a flabbergasted looking Professor McGonagall. She skipped happily over to the Slytherin table and sat next to Juliette, her friend from the train, who was also sorted into Slytherin.

Finally, the Slytherin table burst out with applauders, screams, and laughter. Lily was greeted happily by everyone at the table with hugs, pats on the back, and handshakes. She smiled and returned every hug, her brown eyes alive with happiness.

"Blimey," James said weakly, "My baby sister, a Slytherin."

"I can't believe it," Al said, shocked.

We all nodded in agreement, except for my blue eyed best friend.

"I can," Mariana said.

All eyes turned to her.

"Well, I told you she's a mini-me," Mariana said with a smile, "The hat almost put me in Slytherin."

"What?!" I asked, shocked, "You never told me this before!"

"You never asked," she replied simply, "Why does it matter? Are you like your Dad, prejudice against Slytherin's?"

I took a minute to consider this. Did I think all Slytherin's were evil, like my father?

"No, I suppose not. It's not as though it really matters," I replied honestly.

Finally, after the shock of the youngest Potter being sorted a Slytherin, the ceremony continued.

"Scamander, Lorcan!"

Lila leaned forward, anxious to watch her little brother. One of the two dark blonde, blue and dappled green eyed twins climbed up on the stands.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Scamander, Lysander!"

The other twin, identical to his brother, placed the hat on his head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Oh, good!" Lila cried with joy.

The Gryffindor's stood up and cheered for the new student. Lila ran over and hugged her brother, ignoring his protests to "Gerroff!"

Finally, Professor McGonagall called, "Weasley, Hugo!"

I smiled as I watched my little brother climb up nervously onto the wooden stool, his blue eyes darting around his room. The hat was placed on top of his wavy, red-brown hair.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted.

James, Al, Mariana, Alice, Fred, Jerry, and Roxanne all turned to me, wide-eyed.

"That was your little brother, right?" Alice asked uncertainly.

I nodded then burst out laughing. Everyone looked at me strangely. I turned to Al, still chuckling.

"It must be a day for our little siblings to defy expectations!"

Al started to laugh, and then James join in, soon we were all laughing together. I looked over to the Hufflepuff table and caught my little brother's eye. I smiled at him, trying to communicate a million words in that grin. That I loved him. That I was proud of him. That he was going to be a great Hufflepuff. He smiled back, and I think he understood. Oh, the power of one smile.

"Weasley, Molly!"

The last to be sorted, my very own cousin, placed the hat daintily on her on head. It barely touched the crown of her golden brunette locks when it yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"

Professor McGonagall rolled up the scroll and turned face the students, her lips relatively plump and smiling.

"Bon appétit!" she smiled, and with a wave of her hand, food filled up every House table.

"Bloody hell, it's about time!" James exclaimed, grabbing the nearest chicken wing and chomping into it.

"Language, James," Alice scolded gently, and then handed him a napkin, "Manners wouldn't hurt either."

"James?! Manners?! HA!" Mariana burst out laughed, nearly choking on her goblet of pumpkin juice.

"I can only dream," Alice smiled, giving James a loving peck on the cheek.

"Oh, fine," James grumbled, swallowing the food in his mouth and wiping the corners of his mouth with the napkin Alice handed him, "See? I'm being a good boy."

Mariana snorted again, and kept muttering something that sounded like "James… good… ha!" The food was quickly devoured and soon enough, the entire Great Hall was looking up at the Head Table, where Professor McGonagall stood up.

"I have a few start of term announcements to make," she called out clearly, "First years, you should know that the Forbidden Forest is strictly _off limits _to all students here, and a couple of fifth years should do well to remember that as well."

Everyone's heads turned to James and Fred, who snickered in response, exchanging looks that clearly said, "Yeah, when Voldemort comes back from the dead and opens a pastry shoppe in Diagon Alley where all the proceeds go to a charity for orphans."

"Second, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that mostly everything is off-limits in the corridors on the way to classes," the professor continued with a slight smile, "The full list will be posted in your common rooms if you care to look."

"No, we wouldn't care, but thanks for the offer!" Mariana called out rather loud, making the whole hall burst out into laughter.

Professor McGonagall shot a scolding looking to Mariana, who grinned and waved back cheekily.

"Blimey, Corner," James rolled his eyes.

"Oh, so we are suddenly on surname bases again, are we Potter?" Mari shot back, her bold sea eyes piercing.

"Now, now, children," Fred called back in a deep, booming voice, "We mustn't bicker."

"You sound like your uncle!" Mariana said with a smile.

"Guys…" Alice warned softly.

"Which one?" Al, James, Fred, and Roxanne replied, ignoring Alice.

"The one who acts a huge pompous prat, with the weird classes and the puffy hair," Mariana said heartlessly.

"Oh, Uncle Percy!" we all chimed.

"Yes, that's the one!" Mari snapped her fingers together, as though she had suddenly remember it on her own, "Man, he needs to loosen up… and get some hair gel. Some contacts wouldn't hurt either."

"Is there something wrong with glasses?" Al asked self-consciously, crossing his eyes trying to look at his frames.

"Guys!" Alice called a little more frantically.

"You can try all you want but you aren't going to be able to look at your glasses while wearing them, git," Mariana rolled her eyes, also brushing Alice aside, "It is against the laws of, oh, hmm, SANITY!"

"If you all are done, I would very much like to continue," an irate voice called.

We looked around and realize the whole Great Hall was staring at us, and the voice had come from Professor McGonagall.

"Sorry, Professor!" Alice squeaked, then shooting us scolding looks as only a Prefect could, "That's what I was trying to tell you guys!"

"If you would like to try-out for your House's Quidditch team, signups will be on the board in your common room, your captain will let you know when they are taken place. Finally, have a great term! Head back to your common rooms, goodnight!"

Gracelyn walked over to Alice, to help round up the first years.

"Gryffindor first years! Over here!" they called together, but the noise of the Great Hall covered up their shouts.

Mariana reached over and reached in the pocket on the side of James's robes. His eyes got wide.

"Corner, what the heck are you—"

She pulled out a whistle and blew on it hard. The hall fell silent.

"Oi! Midgets! Follows those two!"

"Mariana!" Alice shouted, but looked grateful all the same.

I laughed as I put my arm around Mariana.

"Blimey!" James shouted, his golden hazel eyes still wide in shock, "I thought you were trying to steal my wand for a minute!"

"Why on earth would I steal your wand?" Mariana asked bewilderedly, "I can hurt you perfectly well with my own."

"Who ever understands why you do anything you do?" James asked obviously, "Maybe it would give you more pleasure to destroy me with my own."

Walking out of the Great Hall, we waited in the "hallway traffic". An arm shoved in the side of me.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the person apologized.

The sparkling grey eyes that met mine immediately gave away the identity.

"It's okay, Malfoy," I said cordially, attempting a small smile.

We both stood awkwardly next to each other as the line of students slowly moved.

"I saw your cousin was sorted into Slytherin," he said slowly, trying to make conversation.

I attempted to wrap my head around the fact that Scorpius _Malfoy _and I were having a decent conversation.

"Oh, yeah," I finally replied, after a minute of silence, "I think everyone saw that."

He gave a tiny chuckle and ran his hands through his hair. The gesture seemed natural, not as though he was trying to do it.

"You don't gel your hair anymore," I blurted out, blushing immediately.

A faint trace of pink flushed his pale cheeks, but a smile curved on the sides of his lips.

"Yeah, my mom styled it like that since I was little. I decided this summer that I didn't need my hair to be as hard as a helmet."

I grinned back, catching his eye, and then looking back down at the ground. It seemed difficult for me to even talk to him. But why? I talk to Mariana, Lila, and Al all the time. Why was it so hard to talk to Scorpius?

"You're hair is longer," he commented.

I looked up and met his eyes. His face was completely blank of emotion. I, unfortunately, had to ruin the moment by bursting out laughing. His eyebrows furrowed together confusedly.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," I replied, pursing my lips together to keep from laughing, "But here we are, in the middle of a jam-packed hallway, making small talk by commenting on each other's hair!"

His lips curled up into a smile. He began to chuckle softly and soon, our laughter rang thorough the corridor, causing people to look back.

Suddenly, he leaned forward and whispered in my ear, his warm breath causing goose bumps on my neck.

"I like your hair."

The line goings downstairs cleared, and without another word, he walked away, leaving my heart pounding. My hand flew up and touched the side of my neck softly.

"Oi!"

I looked up to see Mariana with her hands on her hips.

"Ready or not?"

I ran up the stairs, following all the other Gryffindor's and stopped at the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" she asked.

"Blimey, Mari, I don't know the password yet!" I said frantically.

My best mate just smirked.

"Lucky for you, I do!" she grinned, and turned to the Fat Lady, "A Gryffindor Autumn."

The Fat Lady smiled.

"Correct," she said as the portrait hole swung open.

We bid goodnight to everyone in the common room and ran up to our dorm, where trunks and belongings are were already unpacked.

I quickly undressed from my school robes and redressed into a pair of grey blue pajama pants and a Gryffindor embalmed cotton tank. I slipped on a pair of socks and walked over to my mirror. I pulled my red curls up into a ponytail and quickly cast a cleansing charm on my skin and teeth, feeling too tired to do it the Muggle way. I turned around and notice that even pulled up, my hair reached my mid-back.

"Scorpius likes my hair long," I whispered to myself.

"What did you say?" Mariana called.

I turned around and saw my best friend was already in the bed, her long brunette waves draped delicately over her pillow.

"Nothing," I whispered back.

I slipped under my own covers.

"Goodnight, Mariana," I murmured.

Only her steady breathing replied.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face. So, that night, as many nights before, I dreamed. I dreamed of hair of blonde and eyes of grey.

A laugh joined the dreams tonight, too.

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**Daaang! Was that the longest day ever or what? 8,000 words! Whoo! :) Plus, some of you guys said you wanted more of Rose and Scorpius, so I hope that fed your craving! :) I cannot wait to get into Rose, Al, and Mariana's third year at Hogwarts, it going to be GREAT! I love you all so much and please, blow up my email with your comments! The next chapter should be up in the next couple of days! **

**To Your Brave Hearts From Mine,**

**BeautifullyHealed :)**


	13. My Amortentia

**Hello friends! I know its been a LIFETIME since I've updated, but I've been super busy and then I could not update for personal reasons :) I'm really sorry but please trust me that I had NO WAY of updating and I would if I could have. So finally... the next chapter! This chapter is SOOO uber long, and I apologize! I will try to make the chapters shorter if you want, or if you like then nice and lovely and long, then I'll bust my butt to make them legnthy. Well, enough chit chat, let's get right into it.**

**Disclaimer: Dang it! J.K. Rowling STILL owns Harry Potter, which must mean I don't. Oh, bugger. But hey, at least the plot is _mine_! :)**

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**

"I don't want to do this," Mariana muttered for the trillionth time this morning.

"It is a _required _class, Mari," I sighed, countering her whines yet again, "Meaning we can't get out of it. Relax; it might not be that bad."

"If that nut job tries to tell me I'm dying, though, I will smack her upside her loony little head."

I laughed at my friend, whose bark was worse than her bite.

"You can't attack a teacher," I replied.

"Watch me, Weasley," she retorted.

Mariana and I were walking towards the North Tower, for our first Divination lesson. Now, if you know anything about the Weasley/Potter family, we are not too fond of Divination. Partially because the old Divination professor, Professor Trelawney, who passed away in my cousin Dominique's first year, fancied predicting our Uncle Harry's death multiple times.

But, Professor Trelawney was actually a true Seer. She made the prediction that Uncle Harry would indeed be "The Chosen One" and a prediction about Peter Pettigrew, a friend of Uncle Harry's father who betrayed them. Though the predictions were true, they weren't particularly fond memories of our lot.

Professor Boulevend, the current Divination professor, was known for her no-nonsense approach to Divination. I heard from James she was quite intimidating and scary, but her predictions were always correct. However, she did make a habit of predicting James's death habitually. Personally, I think she just enjoyed teasing him. Hmm, a teacher with a sense of humor? She may not be too bad.

"Guys! Guys! Wait up!"

We turned around to see Al running nearly the speed of light. Within several seconds, he was panting next to us.

"Merlin, that was so fast!" Mariana exclaimed, raising a dark eyebrow at Al, "How on earth did you do that?"

He shrugged and took a big gulp of the September air. His jet black locks had grown out a bit over the summer so that the bangs brushed his dark eyelashes.

"So… divination," Al said stiffly.

I stole a glance over at Al, who looked worried. I may be a horrible cousin, but this made me smile.

"Nervous Professor Boulevend's going to predict your death, too?" Mariana teased, blinking her unbelievably blue eyes teasingly.

"What? Me? Nervous? No!" Al stuttered indignantly.

Mariana pushed her long brunette waves over her shoulder and smirked. Finally, we opened the door to the North Tower and saw a ladder, leading to an opening in the ceiling.

"What are we supposed to do?" Al asked, confused.

Mariana rolled her eyes, "Climb it. Duh."

She grabbed onto the first bar and climbed her way up to the top. Al grabbed the bottom of the ladder to steady it for her. Once she reached the top, he quickly followed up, I steadying the ladder for him.

"Great, how am I going to get up now?" I called up.

"Oh, I didn't think about that," he replied sheepishly.

"I'll hold it for you," a voice called.

I turned around and my eyes immediately fell on Vincent Goyle, and beside him, Scorpius.

"Oh, thanks," I replied, feeling blood rushing to my cheeks, and I climbed up the later into the Divination room.

The room was refreshingly cool, a contrast to the hot stuffiness that used to consume the room in our parent's day. The room reminded me of pleasant spring tea shop. The air carried the faint smell of lilacs and lavender.

"Well, this isn't too bad," Al said, glancing around.

"Take your seats, please," a voice called from the other room.

Everyone gasped when our "professor" walked in from the other room. There stood a young woman. Not just any young woman, a rather _attractive_ one.

She was had medium length jet black hair that fell delicately in wavy curls. Her eyes were a mossy green with piercing gold rims. She had a slight golden tint to her skin and an easy smile.

"That's Professor Boulevend?" Mariana asked incredulously.

"She's hot!" Tommy exclaimed.

Mariana and I shot him death glares.

"Shut up, Finnigan!" she barked, flipping her hair and storming over to her round table, and I quickly followed in suit.

"What'd I say?" Tommy asked curiously, turning to Jack.

"No idea, mate," Jack laughed, rolling his eyes at his ignorant best friend.

"I'm Professor Boulevend. You're Headmistress insists I make you lot called me professor, otherwise I would insist you call me Dayna."

"That is completely unprofessional," I snorted.

"Oh, stop being your mother," Mariana snapped.

"I am not being my mother! That's completely unethical, Mari!"

"Oi! Shut up!" Jack whispered urgently.

We looked around and realized the entire class had been staring at us. Professor Boulevend wore an amused expression.

"Sorry," I squeaked out.

"Quite alright, Rose," she smiled, and I didn't even ask how she knew my name, "Now, this Divination class is going to be different. You've probably heard lots of crazy story of insane Seer's and their odd methods. When I took up this post, I told myself that I was going to start a different kind of Divination. A practical kind of Divination."

Mariana snorted.

"Yes, I know what you're thinking, Mariana," Professor Boulevend smiled, "'Divination? Practical?' Well, I try my best. It's hard because Divination is an intensely complex subject."

"No kidding," Vincent grunted.

"The Divination professor before me, Professor Trelawney, used to tell you to 'look in the beyond'. Well, here's the simple truth: you will only See if you are a Seer. It is not something you can learn. If you see stuff in this first lesson, you have the Sight. I can teach you how to See better and sculpt and refine your natural born skills. If you can't see, then, well, you can use these lessons as time to catch up on sleep."

The class laughed along with Professor Boulevend. Nearly all the class was hanging on her every word.

"So, go at it!" she encouraged, waving her hands over the room and a crystal ball appeared at every table, "Look in and tell me what you see."

So, of course, Mariana, Al, and I stared into the crystal ball.

"See anything?" I asked.

"Loads of crap," Mariana replied drawlingly.

"You see something?" Al asked, in awe.

"Yeah, tons of stuff," Mariana shrugged, "Nothing interesting. Ooh, there's James. And Alice. Eww. They're snogging."

Al and I burst out laughing.

"So… you're seeing my brother and his girlfriend making out?" Al choked out in laughter, "Just go to the common room more. You'll see tons of that."

"Rose, do you see anything?" Mariana asked, turning her attention to me.

"I see some things, but I can't make them out, they are hazy," I replied.

"Well, lucky you. I can't see squat," Al griped.

Just then, Professor Boulevend walked over.

"Hey guys, what do you see?" she asked curiously.

"Either I'm predicting we're going to have loads of fog or I can't see anything," Al said sheepishly, staring at the crystal ball deeply, as if it would make the sphere tell all its secrets.

"Not to worry, Albus. Oh, I forgot, you like being called Al, don't you?" Professor Boulevend smiled, "Not everyone can do this. What about you, Mariana? You can see stuff, can't you?"

"How did you know?" Mariana questioned immediately.

"Lucky guess," Professor Boulevend joked, "Come on, I didn't get this post by sucking up to McGonagall. Give me a little credit. So what do you see?"

"I see myself and all my friends," Mariana said slowly, staring into the depths of the crystal, "We're sitting around in the Gryffindor common room. Just talking, laughing, and drinking butterbeer. It seems to be a party."

"Well, for your first day, that's pretty good," Professor Boulevend praised, putting a hand on Mari's shoulders, "Realistic, too. Makes me think it's probably real."

"But, it's not anything significant. Aren't Seer's supposed to predict big, great things?" Mariana fought back.

"One step at a time, sweetie," Professor Boulevend laughed, "It takes time. Lots of time. And practice. Lots of that, too."

A strange expression dawned over Mariana's heart shaped face. She continued looking in to the crystal ball, almost reverently.

"Oh, and Rose?" she turned to me, giving me a sparkling smile, "Don't let the fog confuse you. Try to look past it. Then you'll See."

With that, the beautiful professor walked over to the next table.

"She's so hot…" Tommy obsessed from the table next to ours, in the world's loudest whisper.

"Hey, let's play a game," Mariana said with a smile, then changing her expression to one of clear annoyance, "SHUT UP!"

"Class, your dismissed," Professor Boulevend called, "Remember, the key is not to concentrate too hard. Just go with it."

Everyone grabbed their backs and we all descended down the ladder, one by one. Mariana chose to jump down the trap door, rather than climb down.

When I climbed down the stairs, I waited for Al to climb down. Instead, Vincent descended, followed by Scorpius, both looking dumfounded.

"Did you see a single bloody thing in the stupid crystal ball?" Vincent exclaimed questioningly, "Because I sure as Voldemort didn't see a bleeding thing!"

Scorpius and I both snorted with laughter.

"I saw something vaguely, but I couldn't really tell what it was," I confessed, "Mariana saw loads of stuff."

"Really? On her first day?" Scorpius asked, amazed, "That's rare. She must have a ton of Seer blood in her."

"Well, her Mum and Dad both tanked Divination with they were here, and they were even Ravenclaw's," I responded curiously, "So how could she see all that stuff?"

"Some people are just born with it. They say it's a gift."

"Hey, Rose!"

I turned around and realized Mari and Al were waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase of the North Tower. I bid Vincent, and reluctantly Scorpius (but I addressed him as "Malfoy", because there was no bloody way we were on a first name basis, even though lately we had actually been somewhat… civil ) goodbye and ran over to my best mates.

"Have a lovely chat with the Slytherin's?" Mariana teased.

"Quite. They said you should join them sometime," I retorted right back, with a cheeky grin.

She scowled back, which looked odd on her pretty face, but even Al had a small smirk, which miraculously faded as soon as Mariana turned his way.

We set our way back to the main part of the castle, walking throw many corridors and courtyards, and made our way into the Great Hall, for lunch. We quickly walked over to the Slytherin table, where Lily and Juliette were talking.

"Hi, Al!" Lily said excitedly, jumping up to hug her brother.

"Hey, kiddo," Al said, giving his baby sister a quick peck on the forehead, "How is your first day so far?"

"Amazing! I just had my first Potions lesson. It was so fun!"

"Fun?!" Mariana, Al, and I chorused.

Now, don't get me wrong, I hear Potions is so much better than when Professor Snape taught, but Slugghorn can be… annoying. Especially when he rants over your famous family all the time. Professor Slugghorn is nice enough, but I rarely hear students fawn over him.

"He said I'm the best first year he's ever seen!" she gushed with pride; "He invited me to be in the Slug Club and said I could be a famous Potioneer someday!"

"Wow, that's great, Lily!" I praised, hugging my ecstatic, young cousin, "How has your day been going, Juliette?"

"Oh, I'm getting along," Juliette gargled through the pumpkin juice in her mouth.

"Gross," I laughed.

"Don't be a prat," Mariana and Lily sang in unison, then turned to look wide eyed at each other, the blue eyes meeting the brown, "Jinx, you owe me a Honeydukes chocolate bar! No _you_ do! No, _you_ do! Stop that!"

"Grow up," Al and I chorused, rolling our eyes.

We said our goodbyes and headed over to our rightful place at the Gryffindor table, sitting next to James, Alice, Jerry, Fred, Roxanne, and two other girls.

"Hey Rose, Mariana, Al," Alice smiled, scooting closer to James to make room for us (James looked like he had no objections), "This is Gracelyn Jameson and Leigha Fowler."

"Oh, Gracelyn? The other Gryffindor prefect?" Mariana asked, studying the girls.

"Yeah, that's me," the girl on the left said softly with a warm smile that make her brown eyes sparkle.

"And I'm just the sidekick," Leigha said with a smile.

I looked over at Leigha. She had golden eyes, creamy porcelain, and auburn blonde hair. Her model appearance definitely overshadowed Gracelyn's cute, quiet beauty.

"Oh, please, Leigha, you know that's not true," Gracelyn giggled sweetly, jokingly elbowing her best friend softly.

"You don't even look real!" Al exclaimed, staring at Leigha, "I mean, you look like a doll."

"Err, is that a compliment?" Leigha arched a perfect eyebrow in confusion.

"He means you're gorgeous," James translated.

Alice shot him a fiery look.

"At least he thinks so. I prefer green eyes, though," he covered up, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek.

"Thanks, James, I always knew you thought my eyes were pretty," Al said, with a flamboyant grin.

James rolled his eyes. Alice shot Al a wink.

"Food! Thank Merlin!" Mariana exclaimed as the four (five if you include the Head Table) tables in the Great Hall erupted with food for luncheon.

"What do we have next?" Al mumbled out, his mouth full of chicken.

"Manners, Albus," I scowled, pulling our schedule out from our tote bag, "Ugh. Potions with the Slytherin's."

"We have Potions with the Ravenclaw's," James smirked, eating a turkey sandwich.

"I'd take the Slytherin's anyway," Alice moaned, pushing a lock of her dark blonde hair behind her ear, "You try sitting next to Nate Davies, it's _horrible_. He fusses over my every move. 'No, don't put it in like that! Next time you could accidently put more in than you need. Stop, stop, you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to set it in softly so it can simmer, don't just plop it in!' Honestly, he's the most annoying thing I've ever met in my life."

"Maybe you have a crush on him, Alice," Jerry teased, as only a brother could, "After all, that's what you used to say about James."

"You did?" James asked incredulously.

"No, of course not," Alice rebuffed Jerry's attempted to ruffle her, "Well, you try sitting next to him."

"It's not an easier sitting next to Fred," James said amiably.

"Hey!" Fred garbled indignantly, his mouth stuffed full.

"Eww. Gross," Gracelyn scrunched up her nose.

"Oh, by the way, Potter," Mariana said, directing her attention to James, "I think you forgot to mention something about Professor Boulevend."

"Like that she's totally hot?!" Al spouted, earning an opened mouth stare from everyone at the table, "Sorry."

"Yeah, that little bit of information. You said she was a loony, _old _whack job. Call me crazy, but she looked pretty young to me."

"I didn't mean old as in age!" James said, "But that's beside the point. She's crazy."

"She seemed pretty sane to me," I argued.

"And hot," Al whispered.

"Shut up, Potter," Mariana barked, causing Al to drop his fork.

"Well, does she predict your death every other day?" James shot back, looking triumphant,

"No. I didn't think so."

"James, drop it," Alice chided, wiping a patch of lettuce of the corner of her boyfriends mouth.

"Oh, thanks," James replied sheepishly, giving her a puppy dog look.

"Flirt," she rolled her eyes.

Just then, Lila came over and flounced down, her usual dreamy look adorned on her petite face. Her long, dirty blonde hair fell in her usual carefree waves. Her silver blue eyes sparkled, without a single trace of makeup.

"Hello," she smiled, reaching for a piece of toast.

"Well, Miss Scamander, where have you been lately?" Mariana asked, handing her a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"I've been around, Mariana, you just haven't seen," Lila said with her simple smile, like always, causing everyone to think.

At the end of the table, Tommy Finnigan was staring at his goblet with wide eyes, with his wand in his hand.

"Eye of rabbit, harp string hum, turn this water into rum!"

He look into the beaker, clearly disappointed, and then continued to chant the charm he was attempting.

"What is Tommy trying to do with that glass of water?" Roxanne asked, furrowing her eyebrows together.

"Turn it to rum," Al said, with a roll of his eyes

"How's that working out for you, Finnigan?" Mariana called down the table with a smirk.

"Eye of rabbit, harp string hum, turn this water into ru-UH OH!"

We all turned our heads, but before we could see, a giant "BOOM!" exploded throughout the Great Hall. Tommy was burnt to a crisp, his hair and clothes smoking, a shocked expression on his face. People from every table, Gryffindor's, Hufflepuff's, Ravenclaw's, and Slytherin's alike, all burst out in laughter.

"MR. FINNIGAN!" Professor McGonagall roared; her lips were nearly invisible and her face red.

"Uh oh, this won't be good," James whispered.

"Here's the mission plan," Fred spoke in a frantic undertone, "ABORT!"

As quick as lightning, we jetted out of the Great Hall, not wanting to sit through the lecture (more like screaming) Professor McGonagall was _sure _to inflict on poor Tommy and anyone else in ear shot.

We ran up to the common and collapsed on the soft couches and overstuffed armchairs. Alice and James flopped on the loveseat (fitting, huh?) and Alice curled up against him.

"Wake me up in an hour," she murmured into his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and entangled his hands her hair. He grabbed a blanket and placed it delicately over her, kissing her forehead.

"You got it," he whispered.

Mariana and I whispered goodbye to Al and head up to our dormitories. We put our rack on the hooks on the wall next to our bed.

"Gross, look at this!" Mariana yelped, holding up her nails, which were full of dirt, "This is from Herbology yesterday! Yuck!"

I grabbed my wand and tapped each of her nails once.

"_Scourgify!" _

The dirt disappeared from beneath her nails and left them looking squeaky clean.

"Sweet, thanks!"

"Oh, and check this out. Victorie taught me this charm," I said with smile, pointing my wand again and her nails, "_Rutilus Excolo!_"

A clean, shiny red coat of nail polish covered Mariana's nails.

"Whoa!" Mariana exclaimed, looking over her nails, "That's so cool! Man, maybe I need to start paying attention in Charms class."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a towel.

"Taking a shower?" Mariana asked.

"Yes, I feel gross," I confessed.

"So do I, wait up," she called, rolling out of her bed and grabbing her own towel.

We walked down the hall into the washing chamber and grabbed our shower caddy, opening the scarlet and gold curtains, and stepping inside.

"You know, we should start showering at this time every day," I called to Mariana, "It's nice not having a thousand girls all in the bathrooms at once."

"I agree," she laughed back, "So, first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up soon."

"I know. I'm so excited!" I said while washing my long red curls, fingering out the tangles, "We'll get to go to Honeydukes, The Three Broomsticks, Zonko's, and the Shrieking Shack! Of course, we've already been to the Shrieking Shack, the inside, not the outside. It'll be fantastic."

"Yeah, it will," Mariana replied distantly, an awkward silence filling the air, "So… has Al mentioned anything about Hogsmeade?"

I smirked, having expected this, but played ignorant all the same.

"Of course. He's obviously excited, hearing lots of stories from James and Uncle Harry and such. Why do you act?"

"No reason," she tweeted back, her voice significantly higher than usual.

"Cut the act, Corner," I chuckled, rolling my eyes, "I know you better than anyone, which is how I know you want him to ask you."

"Well, you might want to inform _him _of that!" Mariana replied darkly.

"Oh, don't worry. I will," I answered back sweetly.

Mariana warned, "Don't do anything that will make me kill you, though."

And for the hundredth time, my best friend and I laughed together. Together, we walked back to our dormitory and got dressed into a clean uniform: skirt, shirt, stockings, shoes, tie, and robes.

"How long until we need to head off to Potions?" Mari asked.

I glanced around for my watch.

"_Accio Rose's Wristwatch!" _

The watch flew straight into my hand.

"Fifteen minutes," I replied.

"Well, we don't have time to do it the Muggle way," Mariana sighed, pulling out her wand and drying her hair and evening out her skin with a quick charm, "Where is my good skirt?"

I sighed.

"How many times are you going to lose it?" I rolled my eyes and pointed the wand towards my own skirt, "_Geminio!"_

"Thanks," Mariana replied sheepishly, slipping into the duplicate skirt.

I cast a quick hair drying charm on my curls and French braided it quickly to the side. I rubbed a cleansing potion over my face quickly and, just for the heck of it, a quick coat of mascara.

"You're wearing makeup again?" Mariana asked curiously.

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing," Mariana replied sweetly, "Is it for a specific person?"

"No, Mariana," I rolled my eyes, "Why?"

Mari pursed her lips and walked over to her trunk, searching through it. She came back up with her Potions textbook and her favorite purple feather quill. A smile was still firmly set on her pink lips.

"What are you not telling me, Mari? Because you should tell me it sometime soon," I said stubbornly, planting my hands on my hips and cocking an eyebrow, "Preferably now, but I'm a good waiter."

"Well…" she started slowly, turning to me and smiling really wide, "I heard Jack likes you. Just a rumor, but I noticed that he looks at you a lot."

"How does he look at me?" I asked.

"Well, all 'duuuuh' like."

"Thanks for being descriptive," I snorted out laughing.

Mariana rolled her eyes and flipped her hair behind her shoulder, for the thousandth time in her life.

"Okay, well he'll stare at you all dazed like, like a caveman clubbed him in the head."

"A caveman?" I teased, "I haven't heard of any cavemen living around Hogwarts. Maybe he lives in an ancient cave in the Forbidden Forest."

"Oh, hush," Mariana retorted flippantly, taking out her Divination and Astronomy textbooks from her tote bag and putting her Potions and Transfiguration ones in, "I think he likes you, Rose."

"Why on earth would he like me?" I burst out curiously, looking at Mariana with skeptical eyes, "I mean, I'm not pretty like you are."

"Rose, see that mirror over there?" Mariana pointed a red fingernail at the mirror on the wall, "Open your eyes, get that crap out of them, and use it. You're adorable."

"Yes, adorable is exactly what I want to be," I sighed, rubbing my temples frustratedly, "Why can't I be beautiful and fun and free spirited and mysterious like… like… like you!"

"Like me?"Mariana spouted incredulously, "How am I… like that?"

I turned and locked eyes with Mariana, the brown and blue unblinking.

"Oh, Mariana, don't you realize that every boy at Hogwarts likes you?"

"Umm, no," Mariana said confusedly.

I opened my mouth to argue back, but there was a soft knock as the door. Two identically pairs of mint green eyes and heads full of curly amber blonde poked in.

"Hiya," Emma said with a smile, walking in the room.

"Ready to go to Potions?" Bella asked, slinging her tote bag over her shoulder.

"Yeah, we're ready," Mariana said quickly, throwing me my bag and heading down the spiral staircase with the Jouel twins.

We all walked out of the portrait of the fat lady and down the staircases into the Entrance Hall. We opened the double doors facing the Great Hall and walked through that courtyard to an entrance on the other side leading to a bridge. Walking across the bridge, we head to the West Tower and entered a door hall on the left side of the staircases. We walked down the spiral staircase and walked out into the dungeons, entering the Potions classroom.

A good majority of the first years were already down there. Lila was sitting next to Al, talking to Tommy, Jack, Chaise McLaggen, and Colin Creevey II.

When Chaise saw Mariana, Bella, Emma, and I walk over, he ran a hand through his light brown waves.

"Hey, Corner," he said, flashing a cocky smiled at her.

Mariana's jaw locked. It was no secret that Chaise had a huge crush on Mariana. It was also no secret that Mariana despised him and would love to hex him with the most painful curse imaginable, minus the Cruciatus Curse. As tough as she can be, I doubt my best mate is into Unforgivables.

"McLaggen," she said dryly, sitting on the seat to the left on Al.

I noticed Jack and Tommy wink at Al, who was looking rather green. His eyes grew wide and Jack and Tommy seemed to edge him on, giving him encouraging smiles.

"Errrr, Mari," Al began slowly, turning the beautiful brunette on his left.

"Errrr, Al," she replied teasingly, turning her attention to him, "What's up?"

"Well, I was wondering," he said awkwardly, tapping his fingers on the table, "If… if…"

"If what, Potter?" she asked, searching through her tote bag, "Oh, bugger, I left my notebook up in the dorm."

"Oh, I hate when I do that," Bella complained sympathetically, pulling her curly amber locks up in a loose ponytail.

"I think Al was saying something, weren't you Al?" Jack said loudly, taking control of the situation and giving it Al.

"Ah, yes, that. Well, as you know… the first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up," Al said.

Mariana looked up, her blue eyes dancing with joy. A small smile curled up on her lips. She pushed a lock of hair that fell in her face behind her ears.

"Go on," she whispered softly.

"Would… would you like to go with me?"

Time seemed to freeze. Emma and Bella both said "Aww!" with dreamy looks on their face. Tommy and Jack gave Al a thumbs up, and I winked at an exuberant looking Mariana.

"Yes," she whispered, the smile on her face, which I didn't think could shine any brighter, grew a few sizes, "Yes, yes, yes! Finally, you asked!"

Mariana launched herself with a hug at Al, who responded eagerly. She pulled apart quickly and Al bravely leaned over and planted a kiss on her rosy and surprised cheeks.

A cough filled the room.

We looked up to see Professor Slugghorn, attempting to give us a scolding look, but his smile gave him away.

"Settle down class!" he called cheerfully, walking towards the table that all of our counters faced, "Oh, and congratulations Miss Corner. But I still expect your best."

He shot her a hearty wink and motioned to the first of the three cauldrons on his "magic making" table. The cauldron held a bright green potion.

"Can anyone tell me what potion this is?" he asked the classroom, looking around.

My hand shot up immediately. Professor Slugghorn smiled.

"Just like her mother, first to answer! Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"That's a Shrinking Solution, Professor," I answered straight away.

"Correct, correct! Yes, Miss Weasley, this is a Shrinking Solution. What tipped you off?" asked Professor Slugghorn.

"Well, the first thing that obviously tipped me off what the vibrant hue of green of the potion," I said, pushing my red braid over my shoulder, "That was the first to tell me. The second was you have a bowl of minced daisy roots and a bottle of leech juice out on your desk over there. Those are two of the main ingredients in a Shrinking Solution."

"My, my, Miss Weasley," Professor Slugghorn said with a jovial laugh, "You maybe could have even given your mother a run for your money! Excellent, excellent. 10 points to Gryffindor!"

"I doubt it, Professor," I laughed, feeling myself blush (which wasn't unordinary for a Weasley), "After all, she wasn't called the brightest witch of the age for nothing."

"She certainly was not! Why, I remember she came to one of my little Christmas parties, which I do hope you'll attend this year Miss Weasley. That offer stands for you too, Mr. Potter. Anywho, we had a jolly good time, we did. Hmm, who did she come with again? Ah, yes, she went with your father, Mr. McLaggen."

Chaise turned bright red and stared at his shoes, as they were suddenly of the greatest interest.

"Err, Professor?" Al asked.

"Yes, dear boy?" Professor Slugghorn turned his attention to Al.

"Um, the lesson?"

"Ah, yes! Right! So sorry, class," the professor apologized, "So today, as you may have noticed, we shall be making a Shrinking Solution. You will find daisy roots, peel shrivelfig, caterpillars, rat spleen, and leech juice in the cupboard. Blades to mince and slice the daisies and caterpillars are in the blue bucket."

The students all fought to get the best ingredients out of the classroom cupboard. I realized that there was only one of the good blades left and reached to grab it. Another hand brushed against mine as it scooped up the knife. Electric pulses rushed through my fingers. I looked up. Naturally.

_Scorpius._

"Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized, and pressed the knife in my hand.

"How will you cut up your ingredients if you give it to me?" I asked, trying to give him the blade back.

Scorpius plunged his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wand, twirling it around his finger.

"This," he smirked.

"Oh. Ok."

I walked back to the table and set the ingredients and the blade next to my cauldron. Mariana was cutting up daises and caterpillars furiously and when she glanced at her book, her hair would swish frantically.

"I'm an idiot," I moaned, starting to dice my own daises.

"Yeah, pretty much," she murmured vaguely, "For what reason are you referring to this time?"

"Oh, nothing, just making a fool of myself in front of Malfoy," I said, tapping my wand on my cauldron and mumbling a spell to heat it up, "That's all."

A smirk curled up on Mariana's pursed lips.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What?!"

"Nothing!"

"_Whaaaaat?!" _

"NOTHING!"

I slammed the bottle of leech juice on the table.

"Would you just tell me what you're smirking over?" I asked exasperatedly.

"No."

I scoffed.

"Fine."

"Fine!"

The class all worked in silence. Tommy's potion exploded a good three or four times, Jack helped him clean up the mess and somehow finished his potion, Mariana worked in utter silence (she'll most likely hex you if you interrupt her), Al struggled to keep up but finished with a fair potion, and Chaise looked confident as usual, though his potion was in a complete disarray.

"Time is up!" Professor Slugghorn called, bustling into the middle of the room, "Stop your stirring! I shall walk around and inspect your potions now."

"Average, Mr. Goyle. Very average. Miss Zabini, well done, except next time you'll need to put less leech juice. Well, well, Mr. Malfoy. Not bad. Not bad at all! Mr. Finnigan that is just… disgraceful. You must work harder. Not a bad try, Mr. Potter, not a bad try at all. Mr. Creevey, you can do better. As for you, Miss Hazelwood. Yes, Miss Corner, yes! Well done. And… excellent! Why, it's nearly perfect, Miss Weasley! And… why, Mr. Thomas, yours is just as good as Miss Weasley! Excellent, excellent! 10 points to Gryffindor, for both of you!"

Jack looked over and smiled at me. I smiled back and we exchanged celebratory fist bumps.

"Now, now. I do need all of your attention for this. We are going to be having a very big project."

We all looked up. Project was not a word us students liked. Especially when paired with words like "very big".

"I have very high hopes for this class and I would like to see how you work together under stress. Therefore, in groups of two, I am assigning you to write essay, two scrolls, on the Amortentia potion."

"Am-or-whatia potion?" Mariana turned to me, confused.

"Amortentia potion. The most powerful love potion in the world," I immediately informed her.

"Isn't that, like, super dangerous? Like girls going nutso dangerous?" Al asked.

"Yes, pretty much," I replied.

"Excellent," Tommy said with a smile.

"Finnigan, go blow yourself up or something," Mariana snapped.

"Careful what you wish for," Jack winked, "That could seriously happen any second now. Good going, Mari!"

"Sorry," she teased back, sticking her tongue out.

"Now, class, pay attention," Professor Slugghorn called out, snapping his fingers, "I will group you up in pairs of two for this two part assignment."

"Two part, Professor?" Al asked.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter," Professor Slugghorn replied, a twinkle in his eyes, "Writing the essay is only the second part of this assignment. You will write the essay after you… make the potion."

Quills, wands, cauldrons, and mouths all dropped. We all looked shocked. A bunch of third years attempting to make one of the most complicated potions of all time?

"Professor, I don't mean this in a rude way…" Mariana said, her ocean blue eyes wide with shock, "_But are you bloody mental?!_"

We all burst out laughter.

"No, Mariana, how could anybody take that as being rude?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"That's quite alright, Miss Corner. But I would highly suggest you don't ask Professor McGonagall that question in the same format. She may not be as understanding," the professor said with a hearty wink, "Yes, I want to see what you all are made of. I don't except you to get it even nearly perfect, but I want to challenge you. Almost every class that I have done this experiment with has turned out to be my best. Why, I did this assignment with your grandparent's and your great-godfather's class, Mr. Potter. Ah, sweet Lily. She was paired with Sirius Black, I believe, and was not happy about it one bit. I did humor James, though, and pair with his friend Remus Lupin."

"My Grandmum and Granddad?" Al inquired.

"The very same," Professor Slugghorn said with a smile, "Now, the list of partners is posted at the bulletin outside the door. Class dismissed."

The third years ran outside in the dungeon corridor and looked at the previously unnoticed white sheet on the cork board.

"Cross your fingers," Mariana grinned.

"Oh, I hope we're together!" I said with eagerness.

"Me too," she said with just as much anticipation in her voice.

We fought through the crowd and read the sheet.

_Third Years Amortentia Project_

_Bellanna Jouel and Tomas Finnigan_

_Lila Scamander and Albus Potter_

_Emmalina Jouel and Vincent Goyle_

_Rose Weasley and Jack Thomas_

_Mariana Corner and Scorpius Malfoy_

_Lydia Zabini and Chaise McLaggen_

_Cristine Hazelwood and Colin Creevey II._

"I'm with Malfoy?" Mariana cried out, "Oh, Professor Slugghorn is completely off his rocker!"

"Hey, Rose, we're partners!" Jack smiled, embracing me in a huge hug, "This is going to be so fun!"

"If we make it out alive," I teased back.

"Come on, we're like a dream team! Thomas and Weasley has a ring to it, huh?"

"I think Weasley and Thomas sounds better," I replied, twinkling my brown eyes at his grey eyes.

Jack looked over. His gaze stayed with mine and his face lit up into the sweetest smile I had ever seen.

"Don't push your luck," he teased softly, and then head up the spiral staircase, stopping to wave back.

My heart was pounding. I looked over at Mariana, who naturally, had a huge smirk on her pretty little face.

"_Je vous ai dit qu'il vous aime,_" she sang in a teasing chime.

"Mariana, I do not speak French," I rolled my eyes.

"I said I told you he liked you!" Mariana said, grabbing my hands excitedly, "Oh, you and Jack would be the cutest couple! And… well, I think Al will finally get his head out of Moaning Myrtle's toilet."

"Does he frequently stick is head in Moaning Myrtle's lu?" I laughed inquisitively

"When it comes to me and him, together, yes," Mariana replied, "He cannot seem to get that little bit of information."

"What little bit of information?" I asked.

"That I want to snog him senselessly until our heads are both spinning around like merry-go-rounds!" she exclaimed.

We looked around and realized everyone else had already left the dungeons, so Mariana and I began to track up the long, spiral staircases.

"I just don't see how one boy can be completely ignorant of all things hormone related," she fussed, "Why won't he just bloody kiss me and get it over with!"

"He kissed you this afternoon," I pointed out.

"Oh, that doesn't count," she rolled her eyes, "It was on the cheek. I mean classic Hogwarts broom closet snog session."

"Too far!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up.

"Oh, don't be a priss. Every good Hogwarts student has done it. I bet your parents did it."

"Umm, eww!" I wrinkled up my nose, "I did _not _need that mental image. Did your parents make out in a broom closet here?"

"Nope, they didn't take until after Hogwarts, during Healers training," she confessed disappointedly, "Sad excuse for teenagers."

"So, they made out in a medicine cabinet," I smirked, "That's hot."

"Ah ha ha ha," Mariana rolled her eyes, "Seriously, don't take this fun away from me."

"Well, you have fun making out with my cousin," I grinned, "I will…"

"Make out with somebody else?" she finished my sentence with a grin.

"Who do you suggest?" I snapped back.

"Whoa, put the claws away, Rose Posie, I'm just messing with you," she threw up her hands in defense, "I don't know, maybe if you pushed your fears aside and just went for Jack."

"You don't know that I even want Jack," I replied stubbornly.

"Who wouldn't want Jack?" she asked incredulously, "He's gorgeous, smart, kind…"

"Sounds as if you have a crush on him rather than me, Mari," I sneered, "Maybe you should go snog him instead of me."

Mariana and I stared at each other for several seconds. And of course, as only best friend could, we burst out laughing.

"So… you and Malfoy are partners?" I mocked.

"Oh, don't remind me. I need to ask him when we're doing the project at supper," she moaned.

"What's so bad about Malfoy?"

She stared at me, her brilliant ocean blue eyes staring at me in astonishment.

"Are you nuts? For starters, he's a Malfoy. Second, he's most likely going to boss me around, which I **don't **like. Third… he's Malfoy!"

"Oh, good reasoning," I snorted out in laughter, "I'm sure it won't be too bad. I'm sure you'd rather be with your beloved Albus!"

"No, I'd rather him be with Lila for the project. Something will go horribly wrong during it and it'll be the funniest moment of our entire 7 years. I promise you!"

We reached the Great Hall, which was already bustling with students. Mari and I walked over and sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Al, Lila, Bella, Anna, Tommy, and Jack.

"Hey, Rose, you want to meet tomorrow afternoon during free period in the library?" Jack asked, turning to me, "For our Amortentia potion project?"

"Oh, yeah. That sounds fine."

"Speaking of which, I need to go ask Goyle when we're doing our research," Emma said, hoping up and running over to the Slytherin table, her amber block curls bouncing behind her.

"When are we doing ours, Tommy?" Bella asked, blowing soft on the searing soup delicately cradled in her spoon.

"I guess we could go ahead and knock a portion of it out of the way tonight," Tommy shrugged.

"Oh, bugger, I need to ask Malfoy," Mariana said annoyed, then stood up and screamed to the Slytherin table, "OI! MALFOY!"

The entire hall looked over at Mariana, but she didn't seem to notice. That or she didn't care.

"We need to do that research project! Tomorrow during free period, preferably!"

Scorpius's usual pale face flushed with pink and he nodded quickly, then turning his head back to Vincent and Emma.

"Blimey! Are you mental, Corner?" James exclaimed from down the table.

"James," Alice scolded.

Supper went as it always did and after our stomachs were nice and full, we trudged up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room behind the portrait of the Fat Lady. The Gryffindor's worked through the loads of homework and finally, after an exhausting day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, we tucked in the bed.

Chirping birds and brilliant sunshine woke me up early the next morning. Blinded by the light, I squinted to look around the room. The rest of the girls in the dormitory were still fast asleep. I closed my eyes and tried to do the same, but after tossing and turning restlessly for another hour, I decided it wasn't worth and got out of bed.

Grabbing a fluffy white towel, I trudged down the hall to the washing chamber and turned the shower on. Jumping in the stream on hot water, I walked out five minutes later refreshed and awake.

I walked down the hall back into dorm to discover that everyone was just as I had left them: asleep. I quickly dressed into my pleaded skirt, white cotton colored shirt, Gryffindor tie, socks, and shoes. I skipped the robe today, since I could feel the pleasant temperature outside through a cracked open window, and it was far too nice to have the robe draped over your whole body.

I walked over to a cherry wood jewelry box, a gift from my dad for my eleventh birthday. Opening one of the drawers, I pulled out a golden chain necklace with a ruby jeweled "R" pendant. It was my favorite necklace, since it was a gift from Al last Christmas.

I looked out the window and met a pair of large, innocent green eyes. A tawny owl stood perched at the window seal, his head crooked and a envelope in his beak.

"Hi, little fellow," I cooed, opened the window enough so he could fly in, and reaching my arm out so he could land on it, "Thanks for the letter."

The sweet owl nipped my finger affectionately and looked around.

"Oh, do you want a treat?" I asked the owl, who hooted happily in response.

I walked over to my bed and pulled my trunk from beneath it and pulled out a paper bag. Inside were many little round pellets: homemade owl treats that Grandmum Weasley and I had made together.

I grabbed a treat out of the back, stored it back into the truck, and gave the treat to the exhausted owl. He chewed it up quickly and hooted his thankful reply. With that, the owl soared out the window, probably heading to the Owlery to take a well deserved nap.

I looked at the envelope, which was a light purple. I looked at the return address and read "Victorie Weasley". Smiling, I anxiously opening the letter.

_Dear Rose,_

_Hi there, Rosie! I've missed you so much lately. I wish you could me with me here Mére, Dad, Grandmum, Aunt Andromeda, and of course Teddy and I to plan the wedding! I wish we could stay up late, drinking hot chocolate and talking about girl things, like my dress and decorations and everything. _

_I cannot believe this, Rosie. I'm getting married. To Teddy. I feel like everyday I'm dreaming. But, then I walk downstairs and see him and we exchange this special look and I know it's no dream. I don't think I have been or ever will be happier than I am right now. Surprisingly, I'm not nervous or scared, because I know 100% in the bottom of my heart that this is right. _

_So, tell me how your year is going. I want to hear everything. Every little detail and every little secret. How are things going with… You-Know-Who? (And NO, I do not mean Voldemort!) Is he still being a stupid boy? If he is, don't take it personally. All boys are completely gits. Hang in there and tell me how it's going._

_Alright, now let's cut to the chase. I want you to be one of my bridesmaids. I would totally make you my maid of honor, but my friend Lina and I promised we'd be each other's maids of honors in first year, and hey, a promise is a promise! So what do you say, want to be a bridesmaid? No prior experience is needed, just you in a pretty dress on our wedding day! The other bridesmaids are going to be Dominique, Lily, Molly, Lucy, and Roxanne. I hope you say yes, because it'll make the wedding even more special._

_I need to wrap this up soon, because Teddy and I are going tux shopping (he's sooo thrilled about it). I also want to know we've decided to have the wedding over Christmas holiday. It's going to come so soon, but Teddy and I both agreed to a short engagement. Unless it changes, we're planning on December 21__st__. We'll take the next week for our honeymoon and be back on 29__th__. That means we won't be home for Christmas, but we'll spend our first Christmas as a family together._

_It's time to go now. I love you Rose and I want you to owl me back ASAP and tell me everything that's going on in your life. Every little thing!_

_Your Cousin,_

_Victorie Weasley (soon to be Lupin!)_

I smiled reading the letter. I could practically see Victorie's radiance shining through her words. Of course, I immediately grabbed the nearest spare bit of parchment I could find, a quill, and penned my response.

As I finished up the letter, a sleepy yawn rang out behind me. I turned around to see Mariana sitting up her bed, her long dark hair covering her eyes.

"Whazteymeezit?" she muttered sleepily.

"English, please!" I laughed.

"What time is it?" she repeated, rolling out of bed.

"7:45," I called back.

Mariana grabbed a towel and walked to the bathroom, returning fifteen minutes later bright-eyed and awake. She changed into her uniform, skipping the cloak as well, and charmed her hair dry.

Together we made our way downstairs into the Great Hall for breakfast. Owls were flooding the hall, dropping gifts and letters to students left and right.

The day flew by in a whirlwind. Herbology and Muggle Studies were first this morning, followed by our break period and then lunch. After lunch, we all head to the Gryffindor common room to work on the mountain of homework we had received.

"Hey, Rose!" Jack called out as he walked in the common room after an hour and a half of homework, walking through the portrait hole, "Ready to work on our project?"

"Yep!" I called back with a smile, grabbing my tote bag and waving goodbye to Al and Mariana.

Jack and I made our way to the library together, chatting and laughing and teasing the whole way. We walked inside and set our books and potions ingredients on the nearest table.

"Oh, Weaselette," a voice called from behind.

I turned around and saw Scorpius Malfoy standing there, his blonde hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance.

"Oh… hi, Malfoy."

I noticed my hands were shaking and silently told them to stop. I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. Taking in his appearance, his seemed quite comfortable. His thumbs were hooked casually on the pockets of black slacks. His crisp white collared shirt looked (regrettably) extremely handsome on him and the emerald green and silver tie crowned him as a proud Slytherin.

Scorpius turned over to Jack, who had been quietly taking in the scene.

"Thomas, right?" Scorpius asked.

Jack nodded back with a small grin and Scorpius stuck out his hand. The two boys shook hands. Scorpius turned over to me again, his sparkling grey eyes searching through mine.

"What did you need?" I asked, not rudely, but not kindly either.

"Corner was supposed to meet me here half an hour ago," Scorpius drawled, looking around again, "Would you happen to have any idea where she is?"

"I… um, I think she's in the common room," I replied.

"Oh, bugger," Scorpius muttered, running his hands through his golden locks, and then pointed at a Gryffindor first year, "Oi! Munchkin, yes you! Want to earn a galleon?"

Jack laughed as Scorpius bribed the young girl, who shot out of the library, probably to go retrieve Mariana.

I turned around and began to unpack our potion supplies on the table. I tapped the cauldron with my wand, instantly heating it up, and set all the needed ingredients on the side. I turned to Jack.

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be!" Jack smiled back bracingly.

It was the toughest potion I had ever made. We put ingredients in, out, stirred to the left, the right, turned up the heat, turned it down, and continued adding to it day by day. Nearly a week later, the potion was finally complete. (We screwed up several times… a week was how long it to make it correctly).

Jack and I starred in the cauldron. The concoction had a mother-of-pearl sheen and swirls of steam (or smoke… or something) were lacing themselves in the air, rising out of the cauldron. Bravely, I leaned over and smelled the potion.

It smelled of fresh spring grass, laden with dew in the morning. I knew the smell well from many early mornings at The Burrow.

It also smelled of honeysuckle entwined with the humidity of a still summer evening. The scent was familiar and comforting. Mum had a garden in our backyard filled with gorgeous flowers. Each window had a flower box, filled with our favorite flower from the garden. The aroma of honeysuckle had greeted me every time I stepped in my room for nearly 14 years.

The final scent was confusing. It was a soft, gentle, fresh mint smell. It was sweet yet tangy at the same time. I inhaled and let the fragrance fill me up. It was the best aroma I had ever smelled in my life. I couldn't get enough of it.

"What do you smell?" Jack asked.

I realized Jack had been watching me the whole time, and the realization made me feel blood creeping up into my cheeks.

"Hey, you don't have to say," he smiled, taking a whiff for himself, "Hmm. Smells like my dad's aftershave, my mom's waffles, and lavender flowers."

"Waffles?" I snorted with laughter, covering my mouth with my hand as I giggled, "They must be really good waffles."

After that day, I suddenly had a new appreciation for mint.

* * *

**Ohhh, a mystery! Okay, it's not really a mystery because we ALL know who the mint it. But still, I couldn't resist :) This chapter has a lot more focus on revealing some potential couples (oh la la!). However, they are still only in their third year (meaning they are only 13) so don't expect any marriage proposals or anything crazy like that yet! So, review, review, REVIEW! I love you guys :)**

To Your Brave Hearts From Mine (XOXO),

**BeautifullyHealed**


	14. Hogsmeade

**READ ME! I know, I know. I am a horrible author. It's been far more than a month since I've updated. But I do have an excuse, okay? So first off, my mum had surgery so I came home to help her get all nice and better. Then I had a trip to New York City, which was brilliant and so beautiful, but exhausting. Then I had surgery because I had my wisdom teeth removed, so I was out for a good week after than. AND THEN, I had finals for uni (which were killer :D) and then I had a retreat that I was a consoler for. As you can tell, my life has been crazy busy lately and I simply haven't had time write. So... do you guys forgive me? :) I made up for it with THE LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE EVER WRITTEN. It gets a bit messy at the end of the chapter, because I was sick of writing, but I wanted to get SOMETHING out to you guys, because I seriously love you :) Well, what are you waiting for?**

**Disclaimer: Oh, copywrite, you pwn me yet again! I must confess that Harry Potter all belongs to JK Rowling, not me. However, this plot is all mine. Sorry Jo :)**

* * *

"Oh, Rosie Posie Shmosie Dozy Cozy!" a melodic voice sang very, very, _very_ early one Saturday morning, "Time to get up! It's a new day! The sun is shining and the birds are—… okay, no it's not, I'm lying. The sun is hidden behind a thousand clouds, I mean we live in bleeding England for crying out loud, but you need to get your buttocks's out of bed anyway!"

It seemed things had been put in reverse, didn't they? Wasn't I usually the one who woke Mariana up early and she whined? I guess the world was spinning in vice versa.

"Just five more minutes…" I begged.

"No such luck, Rose Hermione Weasley!" Mariana exclaimed, pouncing on me, "Now get up right now!"

I opened my eyes, squinting at the bright sunlight, and met a pair of enthusiastic ocean blue eyes. Mariana's long brunette waves were pulled up in a high ponytail. So, with every slight move of her head, her hair would swish behind her like a kite in the wind.

"Do you know the date of today?" Mariana serenaded joyfully.

"Errrr, October 26th, right?"

"Why, correct you are, roomie!" my best mate burst out, hopping up and down on her knees, "And do you know what happens precisely five days from now?"

Silence was her reply.

"Hogsmeade, Rosie! Our first Hogsmeade trip is next Thursday!"

My head shot up, facing Mariana. I wondered why the room was so dark, and then I realized my hair was in my face. Pushing the long rich auburn red curls back, I looked up into my best friend's excited eyes.

"Sweet Merlin! I can't believe I completely forgot!"

Chattering excitedly about our first trip to the local Wizarding village, Mariana and I walked to the washing chamber for an early morning shower.

"I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm _sooo_ excited!" Mariana repeated, several splashes coming from her shower.

"Mari…. Are you jumping up and down in there?" I asked with a laugh.

The splashes suddenly stopped.

"No…"

So with many laughs, giggles, splashes, maybe some charming Mariana's shower to lock her in (who maybe was really mad for a good three minutes), we made it our dorm room fresh and clean and ready for the day.

The chilly bite of autumn was lingering in the air so we slipped on some tights, warm jeans, cotton white undershirts, and fuzzy sweaters. (Both Weasley sweaters, Mariana's navy with an ocean blue "M", mine dark purple with a chocolate brown "R". What? Those Weasley sweaters are warm!)

Walking down to the common room, we weren't too surprised not to see anyone immediately. After all, it was only 8:30 on a Saturday morning. We were about to walk out the portrait hole when we noticed a girl with long, dark honey blonde asleep on the couch, dressed in her uniform with a Potions textbook resting across her lap.

I walked over and softly shook the girl.

"Alice… Alice?"

Alice's light green eyes snapped open and her porcelain cheeks flushed.

"Oh… Rose?" she let out a delicate yawn, "Did I fall asleep here last night?"

"It would appear so," Mariana teased, pushing a lock of her side bangs out of her eyes, "Either that or you got magically teleported down here."

"We're going to wander," I explained, "Want to come with?"

"Sure!" she replied, hopping up off the couch, "Come up with me to my dorm for a minute."

We ran back up the spiral staircase we had just descended, except into a different dormitory: the fifth year girl's dorm.

Mariana and I sat on Alice's empty bed while she ran around to quickly get ready. Walking over to the water cooler, she poured a bit of the water in her cupped hands and splashed her face with it, then patting it dry with a nearby towel. Grabbing a pair of tights, jeans, a tank top, and a jumper, she quickly changed and draped her less than fresh uniform on the side of her bed.

"Do you guys see my... oh, there it is, never mind."

She grabbed a small green bag and reached inside, pulling out a tube of mascara and a hairbrush. Quickly unscrewing the mascara, she ran the wand through her lashes quickly and then ran the brush through her hair.

Reaching into her school tote bag, she pulled out her wand. She muttered a spell and popped it in her mouth slightly, cleaning her teeth with a quick charm.

"Ready!"

"Way to take an hour!" Mariana teased.

"Oh yeah, an hour as in three minutes?" Alice joked back, holding the dorm open for the three of us to walk out.

Our little trio set off out the portrait hole, off to go wander the never ending corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Awfully early to be out on a Saturday morning, isn't it?" The Fat Lady called as we started to walk down the stairs.

"Don't worry yourself, Fat Lady," Alice said with a smile, "I promise to keep these two out of trouble."

"Oh, Alice dear, is that you?" The Fat Lady squinted, "Dear me, I must be in need some spectacles. I hardly recognized you. Well, have a good morning ladies."

"Hmm, it helps to have friends in high places," Mariana joked, "Who knew you being a Prefect might actually be good for something, Alice!"

"Careful now or I could put you in detention," Alice warned, her green eyes sparkling playfully.

"Oh, I am shaking with fear, Longbottom," Mari rolled her eyes, walking up the stairs to the fifth floor, "You're a right scary sight, all 80 pounds of you."

"Hey!" Alice muttered indignantly, "I weight 93, thank you very much."

"Yeah, yeah," Mariana said with a roll of her eyes, "Hey, can you show us the prefect's bathroom? I hear it's pretty awesome."

"Mari! " Alice yelped with surprise, "You're not a Prefect. You can't go in there."

"Oh, who even follows the rules?" Mariana shrugged, "I mean, your Dad broke a thousand rules his seventh year."

"That's because the school was being run by Death Eaters," Alice said coolly.

"Same difference!" Mari spouted, blinking her long eyelashes innocent at her, "Pretty please?"

I looked up at Alice with an eager expression, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Mariana doing the same. Sighing, Alice turned around and started heading down the corridor to the left.

Mariana shot me a grin and we shared a celebratory fist pump.

Practically running to keep up with Alice, we heard her call "Pine fresh" and an entrance behind the fourth door to the left of the Boris of Bewildered statue opened.

Walking into the bathroom was like walking into a washing chamber dream. On one side of the room there were tall cherry wood stalls with gleaming white porcelain toilets inside. On the opposite, a large, marble, pool-like bathtub.

"Sweet Merlin!" I exclaimed, surveying the washing chamber.

"I don't know if this sentence has ever been said in the history of humanity," Mariana began slowly, drinking in the scene with her eyes, "But this is the most bloody beautiful bathroom I've ever seen!"

"James and I love it in here," Alice said with smile, kicking off her shoes, sitting down at the edge of the tub, and dipping her feet in the water, "We'll come in here and talk for hours."

"You mean snog?" Mariana teased, copying Alice and kicking her shoes off as well, soaking them in the water.

"Occasionally," Alice batted her eyelashes playfully, "We actually don't kiss that often. We talk more than anything, really."

"How do you find so much to talk about?" I asked, following the other two's lead as well and plunging my toes into the water.

"We don't," Alice answered honestly, "We don't have to find anything to talk about. We just… talk. We never seem to have to force our conversation or awkwardly say 'So…' or that kind of thing. I suppose we just get each other."

"I know you are still pretty young, but do you think you and James are going to get married?" Mariana inquired, looking at Alice.

A soft rosy blush crept up on Alice's cheeks. Her light green eyes looked glazed and dreamy, and she smiled Mariana and me.

"I can't imagine spending my whole life with anyone else," she admitted sheepishly, "But I don't know what will happen between us. I can't see anything tearing us apart, though."

"Sounds like you're in love," I said with a smile.

"Oh, I am," Alice said confidently, "But we don't talk about it like that. We know that we are so much more than 'in like', but if we really are meant to be, then we have the rest of our lives to tell each other 'I love you' and things like that."

"Were you ever afraid to take chances, you know, when you first started dating James?" Mari curiously pondered.

"Of course I was. I wanted him to know I cared and wanted to be close, but I didn't want to take control of our relationship, move too fast, or say something that would mess up us up, you know?"

Yes. I did indeed know.

"But… life is sort of like a song. In the beginning, it's like a mystery. You don't know what it is going to sound like or what it is going to be like. Then the end of the song is like finally tying the ends of the notes together, completing it. But what really counts is the middle. That is when the song is in full motion and it's your choice what you do with it."

"Wow," I breathed, "That's beautiful."

"Thanks," she grinned, "I told that to James last year. He told me that he didn't know where he was going to go yet in life, but that he wanted me to always be a part of it. So I told him that. He smiled and said, 'Then let's write our song'."

"Okay, you two are unbelievably cute," Mariana sighed, "You need to stop it."

"I'll work on that," Alice smiled.

"Is there anywhere else we can talk? Not that this bathroom isn't brilliant, but if I spend too long in here, it won't be as cool."

"Good point," Alice agreed, "I guess we can go wander some more."

Pulling our toes from the warm water, we slipped our shoes back on and tip-toed quietly out of the bathroom and into the fifth floor corridor. Walking out of the corridor and back up the staircase, we wandered up the next floor with little luck of finding somewhere to chat.

Finally, we walked up another level and wandered into the seventh floor corridor.

"This corridor always creeped me out for some reason," Alice said, staring disgustedly at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

"We've been wandering for nearly an hour," Mari moaned, "Do you think it would be impossible for them to just make a bloody sitting room in this Merlin forsaken castle?"

"Language, Mariana," Alice scolded.

"Language, Alice," Mariana mocked.

I ran my hands exhaustedly through my long red curls as I tried to open another door, only to find it was locked.

"_I wish there was just a little cozy room we could sit and talk it," _I thought sadly.

Just then, the sound of stones shifting startled us three. We whipped around quickly to notice a whole in the wall across the tapestry growing, growing, and growing until it finally became… a door.

"Blimey," I said softly, staring at the door, "Is that what I think it is?"

"We've done it!" Alice cried, looking at Mariana and myself with wide light green eyes, "We've found the Room of Requirement."

"The what?" Mariana asked, dumfounded.

"The Room of Requirement, Mariana," I explained, "It's also known as the Come and Go Room. It's an enchanted, hidden room in the castle that can only be found by someone who needs its use. And it's always equipped for the seekers needs."

"Right. So, say you needed to use the toilet?" Mariana asked.

"Charming, Mariana," I snorted, "But yes, that is the general idea."

"Merlin, isn't this where our parents had DA meetings?" Alice said with a snap of her fingers, as though remembering it suddenly.

"It is!" I exclaimed, "I've heard stories from Mum and Dad, and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, but they never told any of us where the room actually was."

"Well, are we going to sit around outside and talk about how awesome it is or are we going inside?"

Holding her breath, Mariana pressed her palm against the door and pressed.

"Merlin's pants!" Alice exclaimed, forgetting all composure for a second.

The room was… perfect. It was small, round sitting room. It had two sunshine yellow loveseat couches facing each other, with a little glass coffee table in between them. The table had a little vase of purple tulips.

"This is perfect!" Mariana squealed, plopping on the couch, "This is the best room ever. Oh my gosh, this could be _our_ room! We can meet here every Saturday morning."

"I like it," Alice said with a smile, "Our room."

Just then, Alice plunged her hand in her bag and pulled out a small mirror that was vibrating.

"Alice?" a voice called.

"What the bloody hell?" Mariana yelled, "Is that James's voice?"

We both rushed over to the mirror in Alice's hand, perplexed. There, as clear as day, was my cousin's golden hazel eyes smiling back at me.

"Hey, Rosie!"

Mariana peeked her head very slightly over the Alice's.

"And… Corner's nose," he said with a warm laugh, "Where are you guys?"

"Ooh, sorry Potter, can't tell you," Mariana sneered, biting the bottom of her lip playfully, "It's a bit of a secret."

"Room of Requirement?" he guessed with a cocky smirk.

Mariana muttered a… less than lady-like word under her breath. Alice shot her a scolding look, which was rather ineffective since she smiled while doing so.

"How'd you know?" I exclaimed, "Wait… you found it? Mum, Dad, Uncle Harry, and Aunt Ginny never told us where it was!"

"Rose, I found it in my second week during my first year," James rolled his eyes.

"And you didn't tell us?" Alice squawked, her porcelain cheeks during red.

"Indeed I didn't," James grinned, "It's one of those things that you have to find yourself. Took Al until last year to find it."

"AL KNEW WHERE IT WAS AND DIDN'T TELL US?" Mariana and I screamed in perfect unison.

"I probably shouldn't have said that," James muttered sheepishly.

"I'm… going… to… MURDER… him!" Mariana spat through her clenched teeth.

"You know, for once, I may join you," I said with an evil cock of the eyebrow.

"Uh oh," James said slowly, his eyes growing wider, "I've seen that look on Rose's face only a few times in my life."

"What happened?" Alice asked.

"Hugo nearly drowned," I smiled a wicked grin.

"That was me," James spouted indignantly.

"Same difference. There are too many of you Weasley boys," Mariana rolled her eyes, "One less would be good for the world."

"I'm a Potter," James corrected.

"But you are half-Weasley."

"Well, this has been a lovely little chat about your family decent, but we're sort of in the middle of girl time, James," Alice grinned.

"Say no more, I'm gone!" James laughed, "Talk about hair, shoes, or whatever you females talk about. Are we still on for our lunch picnic this afternoon, Alice?"

"Wouldn't miss it," the green eyed beauty replied, and put her mirror back in her tote bag.

The three of us sadly bid our special room goodbye and walked out, making our way down the stairs to the Great Hall for breakfast.

The chattering of thousands of voices filled the Entrance Hall as we suddenly became fish in the sea of a thousand students. Fighting our way through the crowd, we made over to the Gryffindor table, where James, Al, Fred, Roxanne, Bella, Emma, Jack, Tommy, Gracelyn, and Leigha were sitting.

"Look!" Al shouted gleefully, holding up a platter, "Cookies! For breakfast! This is the best day ever!"

Of course, cookies at breakfast were a pretty big deal. And if I wasn't about to threaten Al, maybe I would freak out and eat a cookie or two… or three. But there were more pressing matters on our hands at the moment.

"Oh, Albus?" I said, my voice silky and drawling, "Is there anything you need to tell Mariana or myself?"

Mari's hands were placed on her hips and her eyebrow was cocked intimidating-like. My arms were cross and my brown eyes were slit into glares.

"Umm… no?"

"Really? Anything about the castle?" I inquired further.

"Wh-what about the castle?" he stuttered.

"Oh, I don't know," Mariana began, "Your favorite spots, hidden passageways, _secret rooms_. That sort of thing."

Al's pupils dilated and he quickly shot a glance at James, who was smiling and eating his cookie as if he had come to a dinner theater. As composed as she was, even Alice was having a hard time shying away from laughter.

"Oh… well, I don't know specifically what you mean. There are lots of rooms in—"

"ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER, WE KNOW YOU KNOW WHERE THE ROOM OF REQUIREMENT IS AND _DIDN'T _TELL US!" Mariana screamed, unfortunately very loudly, and the entire Great Hall went quiet.

An awkward silence filled the room as every eye was on our end of the table.

"Oh. That." Al squeaked out.

The entire Great Hall burst into laughter and the normal chatter of students continued, as though nothing unusual had happened at all. Alice and James were holding hands and talking in hushed tones, Bella and Emma were laughing with Jack and Tommy about something, and Gracelyn and Leigha were chatting with Fred and Roxanne.

"Listen, Mari, Rose," Al started, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but—"

"But nothing!" Mariana exclaimed.

"Mariana…" Al pleaded.

"Rose, do you hear that buzzing sound?" Mari turned her head to mine, blinking her blue eyes innocently.

"Why, yes Mariana, I do, too. I do wish it would stop."

Al sadly returned to munching on his cookie. I looked up and Mariana caught our eye and we shared a wink. Turning over to Fred, Roxanne, Gracelyn, and Leigha, we jumped in the conversation.

"But don't you agree, Gracelyn?" Leigha was saying to her best friend, pointing to Roxanne, "Don't you think Roxy would look really good with some golden highlights?"

"I don't know," Gracelyn said slowly, shooting a sweet smile at Roxanne, "That's not really my area of expertise. But I think her hair looks fine how it is."

Roxanne glanced down at her long, shiny brown hair.

"I'm not sure I'm really a 'highlights' girl," she said with a grin, "It's not really my thing. I'd rather just pull my hair up and go play Quidditch."

Leigha scrunched up her nose.

"I'm not really into Quidditch," she confessed.

Gasp spread down our end of the table. Every Potter/Weasley stopped talking and stared at Leigha, exclaiming, "You don't like Quidditch?"

"Not really," the auburn blonde haired girl replied.

"Do you like Quidditch?" Fred asked Gracelyn.

"Love it," she quietly replied with an adorable little grin, "I can't play to save my life, but I love watching."

"Sure you can," Fred said bracingly, "Everyone can play Quidditch."

"I can't!" Gracelyn giggled, "I have no skill or coordination! I would die."

"I highly doubt that," Fred said bracingly, hoping up and looking at Gracelyn expectantly, "Well, come on!"

"Come on where?"

"We're going back to the Gryffindor common room and you're going to run up to your dorm, change into so flying clothes, and then we're going to the Quidditch pitch because I'm going to teach you how to play."

"Oh, Fred!" Gracelyn smiled, "That'd be so fun… but I don't think I can do it!"

Then, a look clouded over in Fred's twinkling turquoise blue that I had seen many times before. I exchanged grins with James, (reluctantly) Al, and Alice, who knew something very typical Weasley Twins-ish was about to happen.

Quick as a wink, Fred had run around the table, picked up Gracelyn, and slugged her over his shoulder.

"FRED!" she burst out laughing, pounding on his back with her fist, "PUT ME DOWN!"

"Alright, m'lady, maybe this time. But I shant be as forgiving next time around!" Fred replied, setting Gracelyn right-side-up again.

"Me thinks Fred likes Gracelyn," Roxanne grinned, wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

"Well, me KNOWS that Gracelyn likes Fred," Leigha said, arching her eyebrows even higher.

"WHAT?" Roxanne spouted, shaking Leigha by the shoulders, "How… what… YOU KNEW AND DIDN'T TELL ME?"

"I was working on it!" Leigha replied defensively.

Just then, Jack Thomas slid next to me. And… okay, I have to admit, he looked pretty hot. (Hot is actually an understatement, but there are no words to describe how amazing Jack Thomas looks on a sunny Saturday morning, his golden brown waves perfectly ruffled and his stormy grey eyes sparkling… sigh…)

"Hey, Rose!"

Okay, I don't really do this around guys, but I felt myself clam up. Why on earth was a guy as cute as Jack talking to me? I'm nowhere near as pretty as Mariana, or Alice, or Leigha, or Victorie, or heck, even Lily. I mean, I have this long, dark red hair that curls like you cannot even imagine and is impossible to tame without a quick relaxing spell in the morning. My skin is okay for the most part, besides a very light sprinkle of freckles across my cheeks and the bridge of my nose. And don't even get me started about my eyes. They are the most boring shade of brown in the history of dull eye colors. My body is… weird. I'm not super skinny, but I'm not super curvy.

In other words, I am exceptionally average.

"Earth to Rose…"

I snapped back in reality.

"Oh, sorry, spaced out there," I laughed good-naturedly, "What's up?"

"Not much," Jack grinned, grabbing a lock of a flyaway curl and twisting it around his finger, "Has anybody ever told you that you have the best hair?"

I laughed, charmed, and felt blood creeping into my cheeks.

"No," I replied honestly.

"You're serious?" Jack asked incredulously, honestly surprised, "Your hair is great! It you pull on the curls, do they go 'boing'?"

"I don't know!" I giggled, realizing how well he could sweet talk me, "I guess you could try."

"Naw, I'm good," he replied, running a hand absentmindedly through his hair, "I actually came over to ask you something."

I felt a rush of heat as he placed his hand next to mine, the edge of our thumbs grazing very slightly.

"Sure," I answered, my voice significantly higher than usual.

"I was wondering, since you know, Al and Mari are going to Hogsmeade together… maybe you'd want to go with me?"

I would like to consider myself a little more poised than most teenagers, but hey, a girl can't help but get giddy when a really cute guy asks you out on a date. If I had not known for a fact that no violins were playing at this time, I could have sworn they were.

"You know, you don't have to say yes," Jack said after I had been silent for a while, "It's okay if you don't want to."

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no. _No! _I didn't mean it like that. I was just shocked."

"Good shocked or bad shocked?" Jack teased, smiling that sweet grin I had come to know and love.

"Good shocked, a very good shocked," I laughed my replied, looking him straight in the eyes, brown eyes dancing with grey, "Yes. I'd love to go to Hogsmeade with you."

Jack gave a celebratory fist pump.

"SUCCESS!"

"Did she say yes?" Tommy leaned over, his eyes wide with excitement.

"No, she said no, and that is why I am celebrating," Jack retorted sarcastically, "Come on, mate, what do you think?"

"Well!" Tommy snorted in reply, "There is no need to be rude!"

"Dude," Al called from down the table to Jack, "What was the rejoicing over? The cookies were awesome… but not that good."

"Naw, mate, nothing like that. I asked Rose to Hogsmeade."

Now, I should tell you: announcing that you asked a Weasley girl on a date at the Gryffindor table, full of male Weasley/Potter's is a very, very, _very_ bad idea. It's like tattooing "Hex me to oblivion" on your forehead.

"EX-CUSE me?" James yelped, staring at Jack, "Did I just hear that you asked my dear, baby cousin to Hogsmeade on a… date?"

"This is UNEXCEPTABLE!" Fred bellowed, banging his hand on his table, "Our little Rosie Shmosie will not be going on any date with you, mister! We know full well what kinds of things happen on Hogsmeade dates!"

"Because we're the ones doing it!" James added in.

"And whom with, may I ask?" Alice asked, a blonde eyebrow cocked at her boyfriend, "I've never done anything with you at Hogsmeade."

"You've snogged," Al pointed out, obviously siding with the other Weasley/Potter boys, "Duh."

"And held hands," Fred pointed out.

"So? We were Jack and Rose's age when we first kissed," Alice replied.

"Oh, REALLY?" I said in an exaggeratedly gleeful voice, "Hmm. What do you have to say to that, Mr. Potter?"

"It was different," James defended.

"How so?" I spat back.

"Louis!" Fred, James, and Al called down the table to the group of popular seventh years that Louis was apart of.

The youngest of Bill and Fleur Weasley's, and the only boy, unattached himself from the flock of girls around him and walked down the Gryffindor table to his younger cousins.

"Hey guys," the strawberry-blonde haired, blue eyed 1/8th Veela greeted us casually, "What's up?"

"Alright, is Rose old enough to go Hogsmeade with Thomas?" Fred asked, his arms crossed in disapproval.

Now, I suppose I should explain this little Weasley tradition. As commonly known, all Weasley's are ridiculously protective and controlling of their younger siblings. The older Weasley's loves to pry into the younger's lives and tell them what to do. So, when faced with a controversy, the oldest Weasley is left to make the decision. (Not like it matters anyway, because if James, Fred, and Al don't want me going to Hogsmeade with Jack, they can't suck it up and go whine to Voldemort's grave – not that he actually has a grave. He is no hero, so his body was destroyed and no memorial was made for him.)

I looked up at Louis's flawless face (if your into the whole "pretty boy" thing) and raised an eyebrow, silently saying, "Do you really think your gonna be able to tell _me_ what to do?"

"Isn't Al going with the brunette girl next to him?" Louis asked James.

"I have a name, pretty boy," Mariana replied, glaring her ocean blue eyes, "It is usually Mariana. But I've decided I don't like you, so you have to call me Corner."

"Fair enough," Louis replied.

"Umm, yeah, Lou, he's going with Mari," James replied slowly, confused, "Why?"

"Do you have a problem with it?" Louis inquired.

"No, why would I have a problem with it?" asked James incredulously.

"Then why would you have a problem with Rose going with Thomas?"

James's jaw dropped, disbelieving that his elder cousin seemed to be siding with me. Fred's scowl had definitely transformed to a pout now and Al was darting his eyes uneasily between Jack and me.

"Umm… because… she's a girl?" James answered, his reply sounding more like a question.

"James, you know that's not fair," Louis replied, "Rose can go to Hogsmeade with Thomas if she wants. Besides, it's not like we can do anything to stop it. We're not Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione."

Now, if you do not know the Weasley family too well (which hopefully if you didn't, you know them better because of this story), this may be the first time a Weasley male had said those words. Epic event. Note that this took place at 8:48 AM on October 26, 2019.

Louis shot me a wink and walked back to his group, leaving a very upset trio of Weasley men behind. Mariana was scowling down at Louis, obvious distaste for his displaying quite noticeable on her heart shaped face.

"Can't say we didn't try," Al sighed wistfully, running a hand through his jet black locks.

Mariana shot him a death look.

"If you were wise, you would stop talking about, hmm, now."

"He's already proved on numerous occasions that wisdom isn't his forte," Roxanne called back teasingly.

"Thanks, Roxy," Al replied dryly, "I love the encouragement in this family."

"Can I go play Quidditch now?" James begged Alice, batting his eyelashes out him and giving the famous "Potter Pout". (Oh, and for the official record: NO ONE can to that pout like Miss Lily Luna Potter. Just saying.)

"Only if you're back by lunch for our picnic," Alice compromised, exchanging a look that clearly said "Men!" with Roxanne, "Fred, you're free, too."

"Halleluiah!" Fred called, and he and James ran out the Great Hall as quickly as they possibly could.

"Can I go fly with them?" Roxanne pleaded with her best friend.

"Not you too!" Alice cried, "Your all replacing me with Quidditch?"

Roxanne glanced at Alice, then at the door, and flickered back and forth between the two for a minute. Then, being the tomboy she is, she bolted out the door yelling, "GUYS! WAIT UP FOR ME!"

"Oh, yeah, thanks Roxy. Nice to know you choose sitting on a broom, throwing a sweaty Quaffle around rather than your best mate in the whole word."

"I'd pick you over Quidditch," Gracelyn said sweetly.

"I wouldn't!" Mariana snorted, grabbing her bag, "In fact, I think I'm going to go catch up with them. See you later, Rosie!"

"What? But Mari!" I called, but too late, she was already out the door.

An moment of silence passed through the remaining girls: Alice, Gracelyn, Leigha, and myself.

"Have you ever considered getting some deeper red lowlights, Rose?" Leigha burst out, twisted a curl around her finger, "You'd look gorgeous in them. Maybe some strawberry blonde highlights, too."

"Leigha, can we have one meal where you don't try to make-over the world?" Gracelyn teased, "Rosie's beautiful as she is."

I shot a grateful smile to the brunette haired, brown eyed sweetheart.

"I don't know, I've never considered touching my hair," I confessed, "I don't do too much with it, because it frizzes otherwise."

"Oh, I wouldn't suggest you try to change the curl or texture," she corrected, "Your hair is darling. But, honestly, darling is _so_ first and second year. I mean, you're a teenager for crying out loud."

"I'm not really into the whole hair and makeup thing, though."

"Yes, you are a bit of a bookworm, aren't you?" Leigha said while studying me over.

"How did you know?" I asked incredulously.

"You fingers are lighter than the rest of your hands," she pointed, "It's from touching parchment so long."

"Are you like a ninja or something?" Alice asked in awe.

"Something like that," Leigha replied mischievously.

As weekends usually do, that particularly one flew by in a blink of an eye. (Whether you're eyes are brown like mine, green like Al's, blue like Mariana's, or anywhere in-between.)

And since break only lasts so long, Monday greeted us with a wicked little chuckle and attacked us with classes, homework, and projects. Speaking of projects, you might be wondering how that little Amortentia project. I would love to tell you, "Well, as you remember, it was perfect and it stayed that way and Jack and I got an O!" But, my dear friends…

That would be a complete, utter lie.

Jack came running downstairs from the boy's dormitory one Tuesday; the day before our project was due, looking quite frazzled.

"Rose!" he puffed, out of breath, "We have a problem."

"What?"

He grabbed my hand (and usually my stomach would erupt with butterflies, but I was too preoccupied about whatever was wrong to think about that) and we ran up the staircase together into the third year boys dormitory, which was empty except for Tommy and Al playing Gobstones.

He led me over to the side table next to his four-post bed and opened the cap of the cauldron we had been keeping the potion in.

The potion was bright purple. Not just any bright purple, a vivid, neon, flamboyantly purple purple.

The potion was _not _supposed to be bright purple.

"That is not good," I said, "That is not good at all."

"Yeah, that's what I figured," Jack said, running his hands frustratedly through his hair, "What do you think went wrong? We followed the directions exactly and it was perfect a few days ago. What happened?"

"I have no clue," I confessed sadly, pushing away a flyaway curl that became intertwined with my eyelashes, "It was beautiful…"

"It was like a little perfect baby that we lovingly made out of explosive and dangerous liquids… but now it's gone," Jack sighed wistfully.

I blinked my brown eyes at him twice.

"Has anyone ever told you you're quite strange?"

"We tell him that on a daily basis," Tommy and Al chorused from the other side of the room without taking their eyes off the game.

"They are mean to me," Jack pouted, blinking his sparkly grey eyes innocently.

"It's probably good for you," I twinkled my eyes back in response at him.

He clutched his hand to his heart and made a mock pained expression. I rolled my eyes and leaned over to take a whiff of the concoction.

The fragrance of dewy grass, humid honeysuckle, and refreshing mint didn't touch my nose as I had expected. Instead, I was greeted with a scent that could only be described as a mixture of hot tar, squashed ladybug, and James's socks after playing Quidditch all afternoon.

"Gross!" I yelped, flopping on the bed in despair, "This is horrible! The potion is due tomorrow. There is no possible way we can redo it correctly in time."

"Guess we're going to have to turn it in like this," Jack moaned.

"We can't turn it in like this, we'll get a T!"

"T?" He cocked his head, confused.

"O.W.L. grading," I explained, "T is the lowest. It means Troll."

"Didn't Dominique get, like, three T's on her O.W.L.'s just to make Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur mad?" Al asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to remember the story.

"Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that," I confessed, "That was when she went through that rebel stage when she had black, blue, and red streaks in her hair and got detention nearly every day. Though she made up for it by getting all O's and E's on her N.E.W.T.'s."

"_When_ she was in that stage?" Al teased, "She still is in that stage."

Bidding Tommy, Al, and Jack goodbye, I headed back to my dormitory, which I found to be empty. I fell to the floor on my knees and pulled my trunk out from under my bed, retrieving my old favorite blanket from inside.

The blanket was one that Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny gave me when I was a baby. It was a cream, red, and gold quilt that was tattered and beaten up after all these years, but was still soft and comforting.

The quilt brought back a specific memory from two years ago on Halloween: the night before my first day at Hogwarts. I remember being curled up in bed, cuddling with the blanket, and Mum sitting next to me, talking with me.

Though there were a lot of people who would be considered more "trendy" and "stylish" than my mum, she was without a doubt the prettiest person I knew. Her fair skin contrasted with her chocolate brown eyes in a shy sort of pretty way. Her cheeks were a very soft rosy color naturally that lit up her whole face. Her light, caramel brunette hair was no longer bushy as it was in her youth, but hung down to her collar bone in soft waves. Though in extreme heat, it still had a tendency to get slightly frizzy. She was neither too skinny, nor too wide, but looked rather nice all the same.

In short, like Dad would say to gross Hugo and I out, "Mum's a babe."

Yuck.

"Rosie, I'm going to tell you a secret," Mum had whispered to me, the window open, the October air making my bedroom slightly chilly, "Boys… are idiots."

"But you married a boy," my 11-year-old self pointed out obviously.

"Well, there weren't any other options that I was open to," she had laughed, her cheeks flushing, "But the second you try to start understanding them, it all goes downhill from there."

"So, in other words, you can't figure them out?" I asked, my brown eyes conveying confusion.

"Exactly," Mum had whispered, pecking me on the forehead, "But you can learn to love them anyway."

So, closing my eyes and closing my heart, I fell fast asleep, without even whispering, "Goodnight".

Without even blinking my eyes, it was the late morning of October 31st. The Halloween Banquet was this evening and our first Hogsmeade trip of the year.

At about 11:30, Gracelyn, Alice, Emma, Bella, Mariana, Roxanne, and I were all sitting down in a half-circle on our dorm floor. Leigha was standing up, tapping her wand threateningly against the palm of her hand, and staring us all down.

"Today, ladies," she stated, her voice silky, "You have walked into this dorm cute, but bland. When you walk out, your hair will be highlighted, your cheeks will be blushed, and by Merlin, your lips will be glossed!"

Roxanne raised a hand.

"Weasley 1?"

"What is the point in all this?" she asked, "I mean, the guys asked us before we were all dolled up, so why do we need to do this?"

Leigha arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow and slapped a manicured hand against her forehead.

"Oh, dear Roxy," she said sympathetically, pressing her hand to her heart as if Roxanne had told her she had cancer, "They _do_ like you. But, you want to reward them for doing the right thing by asking you by bringing the sha-bam factor."

"I think my IQ points must be lowering, because that actually makes sense," Alice confessed.

"Reward them?" Mariana laughed, "I knew men were like dogs, but I didn't know we actually started to give them treats for a good trick."

"Not to sound completely American, but, like, duh," said Leigha.

Just then, one the strangest things (and most random) that ever happened in my life occurred. Tommy Finnigan walked straight into our dorm, chomping on an apple, and looking like it was the most normal thing on earth.

"Why didn't you knock?" Alice screamed.

"Why are you in our dorm?" Mariana yelled.

"How did you even get up here?" I shouted.

"Don't kill the messenger!" Tommy's hands flew up in defense, "Jack sent me up here to tell Rose that he and Al are going to meet you and Mariana at the entrance hall at 1:30."

"Okay," I replied slowly, my head spinning in circles, "But how did you get up here?"

"What do you mean?" Tommy replied.

"This is the _girl's dorm_," Mariana gestured around the room, "You're a _boy_. You aren't supposed to be up here."

"Rose comes up to our dorm all the time, though!" Tommy defended.

"But you're not supposed to even be able to get up here!" Alice spouted, her face turning red (it sort of does that when completely un-logical things happen that she cannot explain), "There is a spell that is supposed to have the stairs turn into a slide if a boy tries to get up."

"The stairs turn into a slide?" Tommy asked, a grin lighting up his face with boyish wonder, "Cool!"

"Tommy?" Mariana asked sweetly, blinking her blue eyes at him.

"Yeah, Mari?"

"LEAVE."

"What?"

"NOW."

"Right now?"

"YES!"

"Ugh… fine."

As soon as Tommy walked out the door, three more girls walked in, and greeted Leigha with hugs.

The first girl had long glossy black curl, striking blue eyes, bronzed skin, distinct cheekbones, and defined eyebrows. She was very tall and had perfect proportioned curves. The girl had the appearance of a model.

The second girl had a bit more of an innocent face. She had shoulder length swishy blonde hair that was played up with bright, fun highlights. She had rich brown eyes and extremely long, fluttery eyelashes. She had a perfect nose, full lips, and flawless dewy skin. She had a definite everyday beauty but stood out from the crowd. She was quite petite: short and thin.

The final girl was (shhh!) my favorite. She had waist length, brilliant and intense red locks that flowed in silky, bouncy curls. She had remarkably green eyes that look so naive and mysterious at the same time. A small spray of quiet freckles graced her small yet strong nose. Her heart shaped, ivory face was so bright and her cheeks had an innocent flush of rose. She was medium height, leaning towards petite, and she was beautiful without trying.

"These are a few friends of mine," Leigha said with a smile, "They are graduated a few years ago and they work at that new salon in Diagon Alley."

"Really?" Alice asked, her eyebrows, "I hear that salon is nearly impossible to book an appointment with."

"Pretty much," the black haired girl said with a laugh, "We're always busy. Oh, I should introduce myself, I'm Victoria."

"Hi guys," the blonde said with a cute little wave, "I'm Faith."

"And I'm Natalee," the redhead grinned, "They just bring me along for fun."

"Oh, please Lee," Faith rolled her eyes, "You know you're the best at highlights out of us all. She does Minister Shacklebolt's wife's hair."

"You do?" Mariana asked, her mouth agape.

"Well, yeah. But it's no big deal, I mean, I'm just the girl that Madam Julia, or boss, assigned to her."

"But you know she would only assign the best to her," Victoria praised, flashing a grin at Natalee.

"Enough praising," Natalee laughed, "Let's get to work."

"Alright, Victoria if you want to take Mariana for a whirl that's fine," Leigha ushered the two dark-haired and blue-eyed beauties over to Mariana's bed, "Faith you can take Alice and Natalee, you can work with Rose."

"Ooh, a fellow redhead," Natalee smiled.

I sat on the edge of my bed, as Natalee instructed me to do with her hand, and she put a little train case on my side table, and she stood in front of me.

"Alright, so what will we be doing today?" she asked, studying me with an approving expression.

"I'm not really sure," I confessed, twirling a curl around my finger nervously, "I'm only here because Leigha said she would get my cousin Lily to Bat-Boogey Hex me if I didn't, and trust me, though Lily Potter is tiny, she is not a forced to be reckoned with."

"Lily Potter is your cousin?" Natalee asked, an eyebrow raised, "Like, Harry Potter's daughter?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Wow, so Harry Potter is your uncle?" she asked, while reaching her hand deep down into the tiny case (which I was beginning to suspect had been magically enlarged on the inside), and she let out a sigh, "No pressure or anything! So who are your parents?"

"Ron and Hermione Weasley," I answered.

"You're mum is Mrs. Weasley?" Natalee asked incredulously, "Wow! She was the judge at my brother's hearing a few years ago. He sort of blew up half of Wizarding neighborhood and your mum was the only one who believed that he didn't do it on purpose."

"Sounds like Mum. She always tries to see the good in people."

"Good thing she did," Natalee replied darkly, "Or my baby brother would be in Azkaban."

Natalee finally pulled out a little tiny plastic bowl, a little brush, and a bottle of… goop. Awesome.

"I think that we should do some really subtle, golden-y amber highlights just around your face," she said, motioning the bangs and curls that framed my face, "Then I'll do your hair, a normal oil-free facial, some subtle makeup, and wardrobe! Sound good?"

"Are you my fairy godmother?" I asked with a laugh.

"I remember saying that when a seventh year gave me my first makeover," Natalee giggled, pouring the adequately named 'goop' into the plastic bowl and mixing it up, "I'm not really big into beauty on myself. I like doing it on other people, but I don't do too much on myself."

She began to coat the sticky goop on my bangs and the hairs framing my face and then, for the first of 23 times that afternoon, I prayed to God that I would make it through this day.

Half an hour later, the big makeover was over.

"Are you ready to take a look?" Natalee smiled, giggling a little giddily, "You look beautiful!"

She held up a mirror in front of myself, and I swear if I had been the one holding it, I would have dropped it.

I looked, well, exactly like myself, but a little dolled up. My hair had been trimmed a little bit and instead of hitting my waist, where it used to be, it ended halfway down my upper arm. The golden hued highlights really brightened up my face.

My skin glowed and had a soft rosy flush around the apples of my cheeks, instead of looking like a ruddy red like it usually did. My eyebrows were shaped up a tad bit, creating an older look, and my eyes were enhanced by a small amount of eyeliner close to the lash line and long, dark, full lashes.

My outfit was perfect (mainly because I didn't pick it out… Mariana calls me "hopelessly fashion impaired", not particularly considerate, but true): not too casual, though not too overdone. I had on dark and soft slim jeans, a navy blue flowy blouse, a dark green button-up coat, a pair of dangly heart earrings, and some toffee colored boots.

"Who is that girl?" I asked, touching the mirror as if to see if it was truly real.

"She's you, of course!" Natalee said, packing up her stuff into the tiny train case, "Just enhanced. You really are a beautiful young girl. It's a shame you don't realize it."

I was at a loss for words but it didn't really matter. You don't always have to say something in reply.

Ever girl in the room looked just like herself, but glowing from the inside out. Gracelyn's golden brown hair was even more golden and her chocolate brown eyes sparkled like crazy, though she only had a swish of mascara on.

Emma and Bella's amazing hair hadn't been touched, color wise, and why would you? The only difference was that instead of falling in curly ringlets, the twin's hair was silky straight.

Alice's dark blonde hair was a touch lighter, due to some subtle highlights that lit up her face. Vice versa from the Jouel twin's, her usual silky hair fell in soft wavy curls. Her light green eye's remained untouched.

Mariana's long dark waves were even darker, making her look very mysterious and beautiful and a few little streaks of purple and blue were placed throughout her hair playfully. It would be ridiculous to mask her natural beauty with a bunch of makeup, so her ocean blue eyes were left to shine and sparkle on their own.

Roxanne's transformation was the most noticeable of all, but she was still very much Roxy. Her hip length beach waves (which were usually pulled up in a ponytail) were chopped to a few inches below her collar bone, long enough to still pull up for Quidditch. Some subtle side fringe was added as well. The cut was more sophisticated but still stuck with her tomboy appearance, since it was left to fall in her classic carefree waves. Her dark blue eyes were played up with some ever-so-soft makeup and her caramel skin glowed.

All the girls head downstairs laughing and giggling together, following the ever winding staircase.

"Leigha," I asked, turning the golden haired beauty, "Who is your date?"

"Don't you mean 'date's'?" Gracelyn teased, nudging her best friend softly.

"Har dee har har," Leigha rolled her eyes, "If you must know, Rose, I happen to be meeting up with several young men today."

"Wow," Mariana snorted, "Way to be a whore!"

Our whole lot burst out laughing, except Alice (our mom away from our real mother's), who scolded Mari yelling, "Rude, Mariana! Rude!)

"Well it's not like it's the first time it's ever been said," Leigha laughed, shooting a wink to Mari in forgiveness, "I mean, I'm young. Better enjoy the attention while I can. After all, they say the queen bee's in school always fall the farthest."

"Oh, don't say that, Lei," Gracelyn comforted, "I'm sure you'll do amazing after school."

"What do you think you want to do after Hogwarts?" Alice asked.

"Not sure," Leigha replied.

"Oh, psssh! Lies!" Gracelyn laughed, "She told me first year she wants to the Minister of Magic someday!"

We finally reached the final steps and walked into the entrance halls, to meet our Prince Charming's… in training.

Waiting in the Entrance Hall were Fred, James, Tommy, Scorpius, Jack, and a dark haired boy I didn't recognize.

"Davies?" Alice barked, glaring at the dark haired boy, "What the bloody hell are _you _doing here?"

"Language, Alice!" Mariana sang joyfully, linking arms and shooting a shy wink at all.

"Oh, shove it, Corner," Alice muttered, glaring at the dark haired boy.

"Who is that?" I whispered to Bella.

"Nate Davies," she said, "Alice sort of… well, is not a fan."

"More like wants to decapitate him and slowly burn his head," Emma explained with a twinkle in her minty green eyes.

"Now now, Corner, no biting," Nate said, winking a baby blue eye at Alice, "Why Roxy is my date, of course. Didn't your best friend tell you?"

Alice glanced over at Roxanne, who was trying to emulate a wide-eyed and innocent expression.

"No," Alice said coldly, "She didn't."

"Alright, well this has been fun!" James laughed awkwardly, sliding his hand over Alice's shoulder down to her hand and grasped it, "Let's get going."

The Entrance Hall was flooded with students as we were all making our way to the front gate to board the carriages on our way to Hogsmeade.

As we climbed in the carriage, Jack whispered in my ear.

"Today is going to be a great day."

I turned to look him straight his grey eyes, expecting to grin and say something witty such as, "We'll see." But the grey eyes reminded me of… Scorpius. And as always, even the thought of Scorpius's name stirs my heart and reminds me that something is not right here.

I gulped down the feeling and pressed on.

Leaning over, I planted a kiss on Jack's cheek and shot him a smile, to which his face slip into an adorable grin.

Ignoring the feeling of guilt, I whispered only two words.

"We'll see."

* * *

**SUSPENSEFUL ENDING! Muahaha :) So guys, click that review button and tell me what you think :)**


	15. To My Readers :

To my amazing readers,

I feel like I needed to write this because you guys deserve and explanation on why I have not updated my story in forever.

First off, I started slacking May because I had some killer finals. I know you guys understand that uni is NOT easy and I tried my very best, but school had to come before my writing.

Then I had camp for a whole month. I had the most amazing privilege to be a consoler at a camp for girls and it was the most incredible time of my life, just pouring into those sweet little girls. But the whole point of camp is to focus on the girls, not my writing, and I wasn't allowed to have my computer. So no more writing.

Then I was home for a week and a half but after camp I got really sick. I was in the hospital a few days for testing, because they thought it was something much worse, but thankfully it was treatable and I was up and at it in about three weeks.

And then I had an amazing trip for three weeks throughout Italy, France, and England and I absolutely loved it. (I went on a Harry Potter tour in London and got to see the bridge where the Knight Bus wedged in between those two double deckers in Prisoner of Azkaban and I saw the building where Gringotts Bank was filmed at. So awesome :D) I got to spend some amazing quality time with my mum, dad, and brother and I just loved it :)

Now I finally got back and my computer is BROKEN. The computer that has my whole "A Beautiful Problem" document on it so I can't upload it. So when that FINALLY gets fixed, I will have a chance to write.

But, another warning is this fall I will not have too much time to write. I am switching to a new university that will require 25% more work than my last one. I'll be in over my head so please don't be mad I am trying to do my best.

I would love it if you guys would understand because I love you guys. The reviews I've gotten from you and the support have brought me to tears at time. I love this FanFiction community and I don't ever want to lose you guys. I got one review once saying that "You never cease to make me laugh" and I smiled for 5 hours. I love to know that just my stupidity could make you laugh :)

Thanks for listening. You guys are just SO amazing.

Love,

Kristin

(I would usually sign BeautifullyHealed, but I trust you guys by now with my real name. But don't bother asking for my middle or surname :D)


	16. A Life Update not a chapter

To my awesome readers,

Today, I logged on to FanFiction for the first time since September of this fall. And your reviews made me smile more than I can say. So here's my explanation, honest and straight up.

Life got crazy last fall. New school, new job, crazy busy. I mentioned to you guys that my mum had surgery last fall and I was helping her recover. But our family went through a really hard time after mum's surgery. So here is the story. If you're not one of my readers and are just going to comment dumb things, don't read this. Because this note is for my readers, not you. They deserve an honest explanation.

On September 21st, my mum passed away. She's always had problems with her arrhythmia (in other words, her heart), the reason she's had a lot of surgery. But she went into cardiac arrest last fall and Mum didn't make it.

Needless to say, it's been an unbelievably tough year. But I always remembered how writing made me feel better. And logging on, seeing the "please update's" made me more hopeful than I've been in a very long time.

I'm finally back, because I miss the world of Hogwarts more than I can possibly express. It was my escape from the world. My mum would stay up until 2:30 in the morning with me, making edits and proof reading. So this story is for her. I love and miss her like crazy, but she loved seeing me write and told me to never give up.

You can be expecting an update shortly. Thank you for doing more than you knew you did. I love you guys :)

Much love,

Kristin


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